There is a Fire Inside of This Heart
by Queen-Annabeth-Winchester
Summary: After the sacrifice, Elena comes to realize that no one will be safe with her around. She allows Katherine and Elijah to take her out of Mystic Falls and across the country to Charming, California. As she tries to settle in the small town, she finds herself drawn to the resident motorcycle club, specifically Jax Teller, the charismatic vice-president of SAMCRO. Elena/Jax
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own TVD or SoA**

**Summary: After the sacrifice, Elena comes to realize that no one will be safe with her around. She allows Katherine and Elijah to take her out of Mystic Falls and across the country to Charming, California. As she tries to settle in the small town, she finds herself drawn to the resident motorcycle club, specifically Jax Teller, the charismatic vice-president of SAMCRO. Elena/Jax**

**This is yet another rewrite of this story. I promise it'll be the last.**

**Title is from Hurricane by 30 Seconds to Mars**

**Each chapter will be named after a song (with the exception of this one). Elena's outfits are on my profile.**

**A special thank you to Dark Alana for helping me out.**

* * *

"Thank you," Damon rasped as his strength faded.

Elena knew that it was only a matter of time before he succumbed to the werewolf bite. The kiss hadn't been planned, but she was not ignorant to Damon's thoughts and feelings. It was kindness that led her to pressing their lips together, however briefly.

"Well, it's me you should be thanking."

Their heads turned as they heard the familiar voice, both watching warily as Katherine stepped into the room.

"I mean, I'm the one who brought the cure," she said, holding up a vial of blood.

As her doppelganger approached, Elena rushed to stand from the bed.

"I thought you were dead," Katherine sighed, sounding disappointed as she sat next to Damon.

"I was," she replied, watching her warily.

Damon looked up at Katherine with exhaustion.

"You got free," he said hoarsely.

"Yep. Finally," Katherine replied, uncorking the vial before dipping it between his lips.

He choked a little but managed to drink the blood.

"And you still came here?" Damon questioned, looking torn between suspicion and gratitude.

Katherine reached out to touch his face.

"I owed you one," she said quietly.

Elena's head turned to the door when she saw movement, her heart skipped a beat when she saw Elijah step through.

"What is he doing here?" Damon rasped, regaining a bit of strength as he sat up.

She hesitated, looking at the original vampire for several moments before she spoke.

"He's here for me," she sighed.

Damon looked at her with a confused expression as she walked towards him. Elena bent down, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead.

"Tell everyone I love them, all right?" she asked.

He didn't answer, glancing between her, Elijah, and Katherine.

"What are you doing, Elena?" he demanded, figuring this out slowly.

"Protecting everyone," she said simply, stepping away from him.

Katherine reached out, taking his hand and pulling his daylight ring off as he let out a string of curses.

"We can't have you following us. I'll put this in a nice patch of sunlight. You'll be able to get it when the sun sets." she said simply.

"What the hell is going on?" Damon snapped angrily.

Elena simply gave him a sad smile before turning away. Elijah and Katherine followed her as she walked out.

* * *

_She knelt at her parents' graves, tears falling down her cheeks slowly as she placed the roses in front of the headstone._

"_You're tired of losing people," a voice said behind her._

_Elena took a deep breath, squeezing her eyes shut before standing. She turned to face Elijah._

"_What do you want?" she sighed, her shoulders slumping with defeat. "We did everything you said and you didn't kill Klaus. Jenna and John died for this, for nothing. What else can you possibly have to say to me?"_

_He looked understanding at her anger._

"_I can offer you protection," Elijah replied._

_Elena looked at him suspiciously._

"_Why?"_

"_Because it is only a matter of time until Klaus discovers that you are alive. He will focus his anger on Mystic Falls…unless you are no longer in Mystic Falls. If you leave and go to a place where he will have a very hard time of finding you, it can buy us time to research and destroy him. You and your remaining loved ones will finally be safe," he offered._

_She remained quiet for a few moments, turning his words over in her mind._

"_You've said all of this before," Elena reminded him. "Why should I believe you now?"  
_

"_I've seen my family now. Klaus has them in coffins, rather than at the bottom of the ocean. If I can get rid of him, I can reunite my siblings."_

_Elena pressed her lips together, looking over her shoulder at where Jeremy was standing with Bonnie, Caroline, and Alaric._

"_Leave Mystic Falls?" she asked._

"_To keep everyone, including yourself, safe," he confirmed._

_She sighed and turned back to him._

"_Prove that I can trust you," Elena pushed him._

_Elijah considered her words for a moment before nodding._

"_I will."_

* * *

Elena leaned against the car window as they drove down the road away from Mystic Falls.

"I am surprised that you came," Elijah said from the driver's seat.

She glanced over at him.

"You got the cure to Damon. Without you, Katherine might have bailed. You proved it to me," she said simply.

"That surprises me less than the fact that you're leaving your brother and friends so easily. I thought it would take more convincing," he admitted.

Elena sighed, looking down at the phone that was clutched in her hand. She knew what messages that she would read if she looked at it, ones bearing the farewells of the people that she loved as well as angry texts from Damon.

"Jeremy told me to do it. Caroline and Bonnie agreed, Alaric too. They know that it's better for everyone if I disappear for a while."

Elijah looked even more surprised, an expression that she never thought she'd seen on the original vampire's face.

"What happened to Stefan?" Elena asked, changing the subject.

"He's paying dearly for the cure. Klaus desires his companionship and only used Damon's life as a way to barter with Stefan to keep him by his side," he answered.

She looked over at him with a frown.

"Why Stefan? What does Klaus want with him?"

"A friend, I think. Someone to travel, drink, and murder with," Elijah said.

Elena shook her head.

"Stefan doesn't do that," she insisted.

"I think you'll find that Stefan is not the same vampire you know when he's around Klaus. My brother has a way of bringing the worst out of him," Elijah said quietly.

She felt confusion at his words.

"You say that as if Stefan has done this with Klaus before. But they never met before your brother came to Mystic Falls," she reminded him.

"Didn't they?" Elijah said, glancing over at her. "Have you forgotten that even vampires can be compelled to forget things?"

She felt her heart drop as she realized what he was trying to say.

"So Stefan is going to be a ripper again?" Elena said, dreading his answer.

"I'm afraid that he's going to be much worse than that. He's going to be a ripper partnered with the deadliest of creatures, the one thing that no one knows how to kill, at his side. Klaus and Stefan are not going to be easy to stop, though it will be necessary. And it will be made easier with you hidden away. The one weakness that could stop Stefan from doing any of this is you, so you are the one thing that we need to keep safe from Klaus. You need to keep yourself safe and hidden. We'll deal with the rest of it."

She hated feeling helpless, though she knew that it was necessary. Elena had obviously proved that she was useless, watching Jenna die in front of her eyes without being able to help her. John also gave his life for her, something that she couldn't stop even if she wanted to. It was because of her that everything was happening, so she couldn't help but wonder if it was just better for her to get out of the way.

"Where are you taking me?" Elena asked.

"Somewhere far away from Klaus and his plans. Somewhere I know you will be safe," Elijah answered cryptically.

She knew that it was unlikely that she would get any more out of him, so she remained quiet, laying her head against the window once more. Before she knew it, Elena was falling into a troubled sleep.

* * *

"Who the hell names a town Charming?"

Elijah smiled for the first time in days.

"Seriously, that sounds like a horror movie town. It always seems like a good town until an axe murderer shows up out of nowhere. I've survived a freaking hybrid sacrifice, Elijah. I didn't do that just to be killed by a crazy man with a chainsaw and a mask made out of human flesh," Elena ranted.

She knew that her irritability had everything to do with being stuck in a car for the last three days.

"I can guarantee that there are no axe murderers, chainsaw killers, or cannibalistic masks anywhere in the vicinity of this town," Elijah assured her.

Elena scowled at him.

"That's not the point. This place is in the middle of nowhere," she huffed.

"That's why you're here."

She rolled her eyes, looking out the window at the small town. It was not a small town in the same way as Mystic Falls, the way that actually seemed _charming_. This was a place that looked like she might come across an eighty-year-old man with a revolver shoved in his suspenders.

"Where did you even find this place?" Elena grumbled.

"On a map," Elijah replied in a completely serious voice.

She pressed her lips together and shook her head.

"What made you decide to bring me to this place?" she questioned.

"I have people that I can trust to keep you safe."

That was all that he said. Elena knew that it took a lot to have trust from Elijah. He was like her in that way. If he thought she would survive here, she would trust him.

"Just…don't trust them too much," he warned.

Elena looked at him with wide eyes.

"They're good people. Their sense of morality is just a bit…warped."

"Great. Those are exactly the kind of people I want to be around," she said.

Elijah sighed, pulling into a parking lot.

"They are the kind of people who protect those who they care about," he assured her.

"So what do I do?" Elena asked.

"Become one of the people that they care about."

She sighed heavily, leaning her head back against the seat.

"That's much easier said than done, Elijah," she said grumpily.

He reached over, touching her shoulder to get her attention.

"It will much easier than you think. You Petrovas have a habit of charming people."

Elena lifted her eyebrow, pursing her lips at him.

"Was that a pun?" she asked.

He let out a short laugh, making her smile as well.

"You'll do fine here. I have complete faith in that," Elijah said confidently.

Elena nodded, feeling a little better at his words. She glanced around, looking up at the building as she read the sign.

"What are we doing here?" she said warily.

Elijah turned the car off, opening his door.

"We're enrolling you for school."

Elena climbed out of the car, looking at him with wide eyes.

"Are you serious?" she said, slamming her door shut.

"Quite," he answered.

* * *

Elena grumbled as they walked to the car, holding her new schedule and student handbook in her hands.

"I died and came back to life. You would think that might excuse me from calculus," she said, sending Elijah a glare.

"It's only for three months. You'll thank me later," he said with a shine in his eyes.

She balled the paper outlining the dress code up in one hand and threw it at his head. He caught it with ease and tossed it back before climbing into the car. Elena huffed, taking her seat in the passenger's side.

"Where to now?" she asked.

"To meet your new friends," Elijah replied, pulling out of the parking lot.

Elena sat back, crossing her arms over her chest as she chewed on her lower lip.

"Are any of them vampires?" she asked.

"Not a single one of them."

"Werewolves?"

"No."

"Witches? Genies? Leprechauns?"

Elijah's mouth twitched upwards.

"None of the above," he assured her.

Elena looked over at him.

"There's nothing supernatural happening in this town?" she questioned.

"Nothing at all," Elijah assured her.

She sighed, relaxing slightly.

"That will be a nice change," Elena decided.

"I'll decide not to take offense to that," he said.

She smiled, glancing out of the window. When they pulled into a mechanic's parking lot, she looked at Elijah questioningly.

"Teller-Morrow?" Elena read off of the sign.

"You'll get to know this place well," he said confidently, cutting the engine of his car before climbing out.

She followed his example, closing the door behind her. Elena glanced into the open garage doors, watching as several mechanics in coveralls worked on different cars. On one end of the parking lot, there were about ten motorcycles parked in a row.

"Well look who decided to show up," a voice called across the lot.

Their heads turned and Elena watched as a woman leaned against the doorway of an office as she stared at Elijah.

"Gemma, always a pleasure," he said, walking over to her.

Elena lagged behind him a little bit, taking in the older woman warily. She was wearing jeans and stilettos as well as a cross between a stern and fond expression. Her hair was dark with a few blonde streaks through it. All in all, she looked like a woman that Elena did not want to cross.

"Who's this? I know it's not your daughter," Gemma said, looking Elena up and down.

"She's the one I told you about," Elijah replied.

"Elena," she said, reaching her hand out.

Gemma waved her off, pulling her into a hug.

"We don't shake hands here, darling," she said, a slight southern drawl in her voice.

"Oh…okay." Elena said, hugging her back before pulling away.

They both turned to look at Elijah.

"Let's go to the clubhouse. We can talk," Gemma said, patting Elena's back before walking ahead of them.

"Clubhouse?" Elena murmured questioningly.

"You'll see," Elijah said.

They walked around the garage and she was aware of the stares that they attracted. Elena did not have time to process them before they were away from the mechanics and cars. On the side of the building, she saw a large figure painted there. She stopped short, looking up at him with an ache of familiarity in her chest.

"What is SAMCRO?" she asked, looking at the words that were painted over the reaper that seemed to be staring into her eyes.

Gemma and Elijah both stopped and she saw them exchange a look out of the corner of her eye.

"Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Redwood Original," Gemma answered, walking back to her.

Elena looked at her questioningly.

"A motorcycle club?" she said.

Gemma nodded in confirmation.

"My husband and my son are a part of it."

Elena glanced at Elijah warily. She was not ignorant to the reputation of motorcycle clubs, especially those that were on the west coast. He simply shook his head at her, a promise that he would explain later.

"You like it?" Gemma asked, nodding at the reaper.

She looked back at it, taking in the skeleton for several moments.

"It's intimidating," Elena finally decided.

Gemma let out a laugh, putting an arm around her shoulders.

"That's what it's supposed to be, honey. Don't worry, you'll meet the boys later. I'm sure they'll love you."

Somehow, her words did not comfort Elena even a little bit. When they entered the building at the back of the garage, Elena was surprised to see a fully decorated bar. A man was behind the bar digging in a fridge.

"Half-Sack, get us three waters and then say hello," Gemma instructed.

He straightened up, turning to take in the newcomers before smiling.

"Hey, I'm, uh…I'm…"

"Take your time. I'm sure they have all day," a man said in a thick accent, entering the bar from a hallway that led off of the main room.

Elena turned to look at him, watching as he approached Gemma and kissed her cheek.

"This is Elijah and Elena. She'll be staying with Clay and I for a while," Gemma said, gesturing to them. "This is Chibs."

Chibs shook hands with Elijah before, sure enough, pulling Elena into a hug.

"Any friend of Gemma's is a friend of ours," he said before kissing both of her cheeks.

She flushed, unable to keep from smiling up at him as warmth spread through her chest. For some reason, his acceptance made her happy.

"This is Kip Epps, otherwise known as Half-Sack," Chibs said, walking around the bar to clap the younger man on the shoulder as he handed three bottles of water over the counter. "He's my prospect."

"Prospect?" Elena questioned, sliding onto a barstool.

Gemma waved her question off.

"That's club shit. We'll explain later," she assured her before glancing at Chibs. "Where's Jax?"

"Pulling his ass out of bed as we speak. It was a late night for Jackie boy," he explained, pulling a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket to light one up.

He offered the pack to the three of them. Elijah and Elena shook their heads but Gemma took one, allowing him to light it before inhaling the smoke deeply.

"Jax is my kid," she explained.

As Chibs bent over to get a drink out of the fridge, Elena spotted the same reaper and words on the back of his leather vest-looking thing. Half-Sack caught her eyeing it and seemed to sense her curiosity.

"That's a cut," he informed her.

Elena looked at him with surprise.

"What does that mean?" she asked.

"Curious, isn't she?" Gemma said before anyone could answer her.

Elijah nodded in confirmation.

"It's best to humor her. She has a way of finding things out even if you don't think she can do it," he warned.

Elena felt a combination of flattery at his confidence in her and confusion at the clear warning in his voice. Gemma looked concerned for a moment, sharing a glance with Chibs.

"It means he's an official part of the club," the other woman finally said.

"So…since his says prospect?" Elena said, gesturing to Half-Sack.

"He's on a sort of rookie contract. If he passes the vote of the club after a year or more, he'll get patched in and get the reaper on his back," Chibs explained.

She nodded without saying another word, sipping at her water.

"Hey Ma," a voice came from behind them.

Elena didn't turn, seeing movement out of the corner of her eye. When she lifted her head, her gaze was met with a pair of bright blue eyes staring at her curiously as he bent down to kiss his mother's cheek.

"Hey baby," Gemma said, reaching up to pat his head.

He didn't look away from her as he straightened up. Elena took in his leather cut and long blonde hair, feeling strangely curious about this man.

"Jackson, this is Elena and Elijah. She's the daughter of an old family friend and she'll be staying with me and Clay for a while."

His eyebrows rose as he glanced at Gemma.

"Does Clay know about this?" Jax asked.

"No, but he will," Gemma replied with a smile.

Elena suddenly felt uncomfortable, as if she was intruding.

"Maybe this isn't such a good idea," she whispered to Elijah. "I don't want to burden them or anything."

Gemma heard her, turning to look at her.

"Nonsense, darling. You aren't burdening anyone," she assured her.

Elena smiled gratefully but still felt uncertain.

"Welcome to Charming," Jax nodded at her.

"Thank you," she said quietly.

He took a cigarette out, lighting it up as well. Elena suddenly felt disappointed that she hadn't accepted one from Chibs. It had been over a year since she smoked, along with Matt, Caroline, and Bonnie. But with the stress she was feeling that this situation, it wouldn't have been unwelcome.

"Let's go to the house. You can get settled there and meet the rest of the boys later," Gemma suggested.

"I think that's a good idea," Elijah nodded in agreement.

Elena didn't say anything, following them out. When she reached the door, she glanced back to see Chibs, Jax, and Half-Sack all staring after her. Elena gave them a small smile before leaving behind Gemma and Elijah.

* * *

When they arrived at the house behind Gemma, Elena found herself wondering if he would be able to enter. Had he received an invitation before? If so, did they know they were inviting a vampire inside their home? As they walked up towards the door, she got her answer.

"Is she like you?" Gemma asked, gesturing to Elena.

Elijah shook his head.

"I promised you long ago that no vampires but me would be able to enter this town and I meant it. She's human," he answered.

Gemma nodded, looking slightly relieved.

"So that little trick of yours is still holding up?" she asked.

"As long as I'm alive, Charming is safe from any supernatural beings," Elijah replied.

She unlocked her door and stepped aside, allowing them to come in.

"Coffee?" Gemma asked.

"Yes please," they responded at once.

She led them to her living room before disappearing into the kitchen. Elena looked at Elijah where he sat on the other end of the couch.

"Is this place really safe, Elijah?" she asked warily.

He glanced back at her, hesitating before answering.

"I can't promise you safety when it comes to the human aspect of living. There will always be dangers no matter where you go. When it comes to the mystical side of things, yes, you are safe. A long time ago, I had a blood spell performed to keep Charming safe. They had a vampire problem and I helped them get rid of it. I bound the borders of the town to my life. As long as I live, no supernatural being, with the exception of myself, can enter Charming," he explained.

Elena stared at him with wide eyes.

"Why didn't you ever do that with Mystic Falls? Klaus would have been unable to enter and my aunt and uncle would still be alive," she said, feeling frustrated with him.

He shook his head.

"Mystic Falls is a town that was founded by magic. Werewolves lived on those grounds first and powerful magic was in the town's very foundations. It would not have been possible to perform such a spell," Elijah said.

She sighed, sitting back on the couch just as Gemma reentered with three coffee cups balanced in her hands. They both took one, sipping at the dark liquid.

"I was just explaining our agreement to Elena," Elijah explained.

Gemma nodded, looking as though she agreed with his decision to do so.

"His protection has gone a long way in keeping Charming safe from that side of the world," she said, adding sugar and milk to her coffee before passing it off to them. "So why don't you tell me why Elena is really here?"

They exchanged a careful look.

"She is in danger. More than one supernatural being is putting her life at risk and this is the safest place for her to be. You know what I mean, Gemma," Elijah said.

Elena's eyes darted between them.

"This town comes with a lot of history, Elijah. But we'll do our best to keep her pretty little head out of danger," Gemma assured him.

She had a strange feeling about what they were saying. It was almost like they were hinting that this town wasn't as normal as Elijah was trying to make it out to be. Whatever it was, he was right. She had a way of getting to the bottom of things. If Charming was different, Elena had no doubt that she'd figure it out sooner rather than later. After all, she did not have much else to do in the small, average-seeming town.

* * *

Elena sat in the living room with Elijah, waiting for the raised voices to end. Gemma's husband came and she dragged him into another room to speak before he noticed them.

"How much longer are you staying?" she asked, glancing over at Elijah.

"Not long," Elijah answered, looking back at her. "I need to start searching for a way to kill Klaus right away."

She nodded, knowing that his plan made sense. Before they could say another word, Gemma entered with a grumpy and intimidating man following her.

"Clay," Elijah said, standing up.

Elena did the same, watching as they shook hands.

"This is Elena. She'll be staying with us, as we agreed," Gemma said, gesturing to her.

Clay looked at her, taking her in with a critical expression.

"It's nice to meet you," Elena said warily, feeling less tempted to trust him than Gemma or even the men that she met at the garage.

"Aren't you sweet?" Clay said, frowning at her.

"Not really," she replied.

Gemma smirked as Elijah hid his amusement carefully. Even Clay let out a huff of laughter, impressed by her dry wit.

"Welcome to Charming," he said simply, drawing her into a hug.

Elena returned it hesitantly, still unwilling to put complete trust in him. There was just something about him that rubbed her the wrong way.

"I think it's time that I take my leave," Elijah said once they separated.

She looked at him with surprise.

"Now?" Elena said with wide eyes.

He nodded in confirmation.

"I think the Morrows will breathe easier when I'm gone," he said.

Clay and Gemma said nothing to deny his words. Elena simply frowned as she stepped towards him.

"Walk me out?" Elijah suggested.

She nodded, following him out the door.

"You can't stay for just a few days?" Elena asked with uncertainty.

She wasn't quite ready to be left all alone with people that she didn't even know.

"You know that I can't," Elijah sighed, stopping on the porch with her.

Elena nodded, knowing that he was right.

"How long do you think I'll be here?" she questioned.

"I do not know. But I will work as hard as I can to ensure that you get back to Jeremy and your friends as soon as possible," Elijah repliled.

Elena sighed and looked up at him with a sad expression.

"Thank you for doing this, Elijah," she said quietly.

He simply nodded, unsure of how else to respond. Elijah stepped forward, leaning down to press a soft kiss to her forehead. Elena didn't let him step back, throwing her arms around his torso and burying her head in his chest. This was the last familiar contact that she was going to have and she was not going to waste it. Tears burned her eyes as she looked up at Elijah.

"Keep everyone safe, Elijah. Yourself included," she said.

"I will do my best," he assured her.

Elena stepped away, hearing a low rumble coming down the street. Their heads both turned to see Jax pulling into the driveway on a motorcycle.

"Goodbye, Elena Gilbert," Elijah said.

She looked over at him as he turned to walk away.

"I'll see you soon," Elena said, her words more hopeful than anything else.

"Yes, I imagine that you will," he replied over his shoulder.

She watched as he climbed into his car, barely aware of Jax walking towards her.

"You all right?"

Elena looked up at him with surprise.

"I'm not sure," she said honestly.

He nodded, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

"Come inside. My mom will feed you so much food that you'll forget you were ever sad. She calls it food therapy," Jax said, inclining his head to the door.

Elena smiled slightly, nodding her head. She glanced back to see Elijah's car disappearing down the street.

"I could use some food therapy," she admitted, turning back to face him.

He grinned down at her, opening the door to allow her to step through. Elena looked up at him, pausing in the entryway.

"Thanks Jax," she said softly.

He nodded at her, running a hand through his blonde hair.

"You're welcome Elena," he replied.

She smiled a genuine smile, feeling a bit better after speaking with him.

* * *

**Please review!**


	2. In the Heart of the Jungle

**Disclaimer: I do not own TVD or SoA.**

**Thank you so much to JMHUW, Emifaith, Dark Alana, Oliza, beverlie4055, cdsnow, limapickle, JaxElenafan, Nml, LoveLulu, and DemonTrapsAndVervain for reviewing! I appreciate all of your comments!**

**Chapter Title: Jungle - Jamie M Commons**

**A few things:**

**1. This chapter is kind of a mess and I apologize for that. It wasn't easy getting everything that I wanted into the chapter so I kind of just threw it together and hoped for the best. I hope that it's not too horrible.**

**2. I made a photoset thing for the fic that's on my profile, if you want to look at it. Elena's clothes are also there, as always.**

**3. Enjoy and please review!**

* * *

Elena let out a cross between a gasp and a scream as she woke, sitting up straight. Her pajamas were soaked in sweat and her hair was sticking to her face. As she pushed the damp strands away, she was breathing heavily. The first thing that she noticed was that there were rays of sunlight peeping through the curtains on the windows. Before she could process anything else, including the nightmare she had about Klaus, her door slammed open and she let out a cry of shock, leaping backwards. Her legs tangled in the blankets as she fell off with a shout. Laughter came from the doorway as she let out a groan, pushing herself up to her hands and knees.

"That wasn't the most graceful performance I've ever seen," Gemma commented, grinning down at her with a cup of coffee in her hands.

She glowered at the older woman over the bed.

"Is there something I can do for you?" Elena grumbled, standing slowly.

Gemma held out the cup for her and she took it, sitting on the edge of her bed as she inhaled the smell of the coffee deeply.

"You've been here for a few days baby," she said, sitting next to Elena. "You've been recycling the same three outfits. Don't you want to get some new clothes?"

Elena gave her a look.

"Trust me, if I had money, I would have clothes."

The other woman handed over a metallic credit card.

"Elijah left it behind for you. Limitless, if I were to guess," Gemma said.

Elena stared down at it with wide eyes, sipping at the coffee and wincing at the burning temperature.

"Are there any stores around here?" she asked, looking up.

"I thought you'd never ask," Gemma questioned, grinning at her as she stood to walk out of the room.

She smiled back, turning the card over in her hand.

* * *

By the time they returned to the house, the back of Gemma's car was filled with shopping bags and their conversation was forgotten.

"Was it really necessary for me to get so much black and leather?" Elena questioned as the older woman laid on the horn.

"If you're going to run with the club, you gotta look the part baby," Gemma answered simply.

Clay and Jax both walked out of the house, summoned by the honking.

"Why would I be 'running' with a club that I don't even know anything about?" she challenged.

Gemma didn't answer, opening the trunk.

"Shit," Jax and Clay said at once.

"They're not all mine," Elena said in response to the raised eyebrows that were directed towards her.

The men were directed to bring everything in as Gemma emptied Elena's closet in preparation for the large influx of clothes.

"You'll learn more about the club as you go along. What goes on behind closed doors isn't revealed to just anyone," Gemma said as they watched Jax and Clay come in and out, both grumbling about the amount of clothes and shoes.

"I'm not going to be here that long. Why does it matter?" Elena wondered.

"You never know. You may be here longer than you think," the other woman said cryptically.

Elena looked at her strangely, wondering what she meant by that. She didn't get to ask, instead helping Gemma sort through the clothes and pull tags off as needed.

"Why does anyone need this many clothes?" Jax wondered, shaking his head.

Both he and Clay were standing in the doorway of her bedroom, wisely remaining out of the way.

"You'll never understand it, trust me," the older man warned.

Gemma glanced up at them with a raised eyebrow, wisely warning them to quiet down.

"I'm bringing Elena to the clubhouse tomorrow night," she said, hanging up several dresses at once.

"You are?" Elena said, just now learning this information.

She nodded in confirmation before addressing Jax and Clay.

"I want the guys there. It's about time they meet her."

Elena started to make excuses, not sure that she was ready to meet an entire group of men involved in a possibly criminal motorcycle club.

"Hell yeah, they've all been looking forward to it," Jax said, lighting up a cigarette where he stood.

"They have?" Elena said with uncertainty, frowning as she played with the hem of her shirt.

Clay and Jax both nodded.

"Half-Sack has been telling everyone about how pretty you are. They want to judge for themselves," Clay informed her.

Elena wasn't sure whether or not to be flattered by that.

"Okay," she said, speaking the only word that popped in her head.

"I'll call to have some pizzas ordered. You and your boys can take care of the booze," Gemma said, nodding at her husband and son.

Elena looked at her with a questioning look.

"You do know that I'm a minor, right?" she reminded her.

"Do we seem like the kind of people who care about shit like that?" Gemma responded.

She shook her head, certain that they weren't. Elena had the feeling that serving alcohol to an underage teenager wasn't the most illegal thing that they did.

"It'll be a good time," Jax assured her with a grin.

She forced a smile back, nodding as she just hoped that she would survive the night.

* * *

Her day at school seemed long, made even longer by the people who still looked at her like a shiny toy to play with. As she started to enter her last class, a hand across the door stopped her path. Elena turned her head, glaring at the boy who was blocking her way. Evan was the classic jock of the school, making her miss Tyler and Matt more than ever.

"What?" she said angrily.

"There's a party out by the fairgrounds tonight. You should come," he suggested.

Elena shoved him out of the way.

"I'm not interested," she said simply, entering her class.

"Oh come on," he said, trailing behind her. "You might even have fun with us."

She rolled her eyes.

"I doubt it."

Evan sat next to her even though it wasn't his seat, leaning towards her.

"We're really nice, I promise," he said, his eyes roaming her hungrily.

Elena felt dirty beneath his gaze, glowering back at him.

"I'm busy tonight, and every other night after that. Now go away," she snapped.

He didn't get a chance to argue, standing up when the bell rang loudly. She sighed with relief at the perfect timing. When class ended, Elena quickly left, hurrying to her locker to gather her homework before high tailing it out of the building. As soon as she walked in the door of Gemma and Clay's house, she threw herself onto the couch facedown with a grumble.

"Good day, then?" Clay questioned.

She turned her head to see that he was sitting in the chair watching her with clear amusement.

"I hate high school," Elena said simply.

She certainly didn't used to, when she was surrounded by all of the people she'd grown up with. Now it was just annoying and filled with people that she would pay not to have to see every day.

"We all have to pay our dues, baby," Gemma said, walking into the room.

Elena flipped over, huffing at the ceiling.

"Why is it, when a new girl comes, it's like every guy around can't control his damn boner?" she demanded.

She glared at Clay accusingly, blaming him on behalf of the behavior of his fellow men.

"Don't look at me. Teenage boys are a different species," he said, putting his hands up in surrender.

Elena let out a loud whine, pressing her hand to her forehead.

"I just want them to leave me alone!"

She was too busy complaining that she didn't notice the look that Gemma and Clay shared.

* * *

Once Elena had a shower and fixed up her hair and make-up, she stood in front of her closet wondering what was best to wear. When a knock came on her door, she called for whomever it was to come in as she pulled on her bathrobe.

"Clay and I are heading over to the clubhouse now. Jax'll drive you to there," Gemma said, peeking her head in as Elena considered two different jackets.

"Okay," she replied, only half paying attention.

"The red one."

Elena glanced up just as Gemma winked at her and left the room. She smiled slightly, forgetting what it was like to have someone other than her best friends to give her fashion advice. Her mother used to do it all the time and she missed having that older influence. She dressed quickly, throwing on a pair of boots before grabbing her purse and walking out. Jax was sitting on a couch in the living room, his arm thrown over the back cushion and his legs spread comfortably.

"Ready?" he said, looking her up and down.

A shiver of warmth went down her spine at the appreciative sparkle in his blue eyes. Elena was used to being told that she was pretty but words did not mean near so much as a physical reaction. It didn't feel near as dangerous with Stefan or Damon when they stared at her with darkened eyes, even though they were vampires. With Jax, it almost felt forbidden as she watched a slow smirk spread across his painfully attractive face.

"Yeah," she nodded, tearing herself out of the thoughts. "Are you?"

He stood up, running a hand through his hair as he swaggered towards her. Elena could almost sense his response and held her hand up, keeping him quiet.

"Don't say anything about being born ready," she said, shaking her head.

Jax let out a laugh, gesturing towards the door. Elena knew, from watching him and Gemma, that these people were very physical people. That awareness should have prepared her for when he placed a hand on her lower back as they walked towards the door. But she still let out an involuntary shudder that she was certain made him smile even wider. When they reached the driveway, Elena suddenly realized that they only had one method of travel. She was going to have to ride on Jax's motorcycle with him.

"You've never ridden, have you?" he asked, sensing her hesitation.

Elena shook her head, chewing on her lower lip. He held a helmet out to her and she took it warily.

"Don't worry. I'll take it easy on you," Jax assured her.

She knew that he meant his words and finally moved forward, climbing on the bike behind him. Elena wavered between where to put her hands, knowing that she would have to hold onto him somehow. Jax reached back, grasping her wrists in a gentle grip before pulling them around his waist. She gasped lightly when it made her chest press intimately against his back.

"You look good, if you don't mind me saying," Jax said, buckling his helmet beneath his chin.

Elena considered his words for a moment before her lips curved upwards.

"If I did mind," she murmured in his ear. "Would you take it back?"

He grinned at her over his shoulder.

"Probably not," Jax shrugged.

Elena laughed at his response before laying her cheek against his back between his shoulderblades. Jax carefully backed out of the driveway before taking off down the street. It only took Elena a few moments to realize that this was not as bad as she thought it would be. In fact, she liked it quite a lot. The trip was not long, as Charming wasn't a large town by any means. They made it to the garage in ten minutes and she climbed off, her heart pounding her chest.

"That wasn't so bad, was it?" Jax asked, cutting the engine off.

She shook her head, taking off her helmet to hand over to him. As he stood up, Elena ran her fingers through her hair and smoothed the strands out.

"I can see the attraction," she said, lifting her purse strap onto her shoulder.

"To the motorcycle, or to its owner?" Jax questioned teasingly.

She scoffed, swatting at his arm.

"You need to work on that ego of yours, Teller," Elena said with a roll of her eyes as they walked towards the clubhouse.

He laughed, tossing his head back.

"People have been telling me that for years babe," Jax informed her.

"Then maybe you should listen a little more," she shot back as he opened the door for her.

He simply winked at her as she passed. Once Elena made it inside, her bravado failed her at the sight of several men in leather cuts. She stopped short before she could make it too far into the room.

"They won't bite," Jax assured her, giving her a little push.

She glowered at him over her shoulder.

"Hey baby," Gemma said, walking forward.

The older woman pressed a kiss to Elena's cheek before wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"Shut up!" Clay shouted, ending the buzzing from all the men and scantily clad women who were in the room.

Elena flushed as they all looked towards her, curiosity on their faces.

"This is Elena, a friend of the family," Gemma said, introducing her to everyone.

Jax stepped up beside her as well, pointing at the nearest man before naming them one-by-one.

"Bobby, Tig, Juice, Happy, Piney, and you know Chibs and Half-Sack."

Elena nodded, trying to follow as best she could.

"I hope you memorized them all. There's gonna be a test later," Chibs said, stepping forward.

She grinned at him, feeling comfortable in his presence. He had been over to Gemma and Clay's house a few times. Elena embraced Chibs quickly before shooting Half-Sack a smile as he flushed and nodded at her.

"Come on, hon," Gemma said, tugging her towards the bar. "Let's get you a drink."

Elena took the beer from a woman that she didn't recognize, thanking her before taking a sip. She watched as Jax embraced each of his fellow club members before taking a seat at the bar next to her.

"What do you think?" he asked, glancing over at her.

"It's…more relaxed than I thought it would be. Like everyone here is…"

"Family?" Gemma cut her off with a smile.

Elena nodded, knowing that was the only word that could accurately describe it.

"We are. The best family any of us are ever gonna find," the other woman confirmed.

She had the feeling that Gemma was trying to hint at something but she didn't get a chance to question it as Clay came up and distracted her. Instead, Elena turned to Jax and glanced down at the patches on his cut.

"So…if you're vice-president and Clay is the president, where do all of these other guys fit in?" she questioned curiously.

Jax set down his beer and turned his body to face her.

"Bobby over there is our resident Elvis impersonator," he informed her.

Elena lifted her eyebrows at him and he laughed.

"He's also our treasury secretary. Bobby is damn good with numbers and he keeps our finances in order. Juice is our intelligence officer. That's really fancy words for technology genius. He can do anything with a computer. Tig is a veteran of the Marines and our sergeant-at-arms. He mostly keeps order among the guys and makes sure that Clay is safe," Jax said, pointing different men out.

She considered his words for a moment.

"Safe from what?"

Jax simply gave her a look, entirely aware of what she was trying to do. She cursed inwardly when he moved onto other topics without giving her a hint as to what might put Clay in danger.

"What does First 9 mean?" she said, remembering one of Clay's patches.

"The first nine members of SAMCRO, Clay was one of 'em, Piney too. My dad, John Teller, had the patch before he died back in 1993," Jax said, ducking his head slightly.

Elena pressed her lips together, giving him a sympathetic look.

"My parents both died about a year ago."

He looked up at her, looking relieved that she shared something of herself as well. Elena knew how it was, talking about family when it almost seemed too painful to do so. He took a long drink before pulling out a pack of cigarettes. Jax offered one to her first and she hesitated before taking it. He lit it up for her and she gave him an appreciative nod. Elena glanced around, catching sight of one of the underdressed women. He followed her eye-line.

"Crow eaters," Jax said, letting out a puff of smoke.

"What?" Elena said, her eyes widening.

He nodded at the women that were scattered around the clubhouse.

"That's what they're called, the women who hang out around here. They're hoping that one of the patched members will make her his old lady. Until then, they're pretty much up for grabs," he explained.

"Oh," Elena said, her eyes widening at the implication. "So they…"

"Yeah," Jax nodded. "That a problem?"

She shook her head, refusing to judge anyone for the way that they lived.

"If they're happy, it doesn't matter to me," Elena shrugged before taking a long drag of her cigarette.

Jax looked at her approvingly, as if she said the right thing.

"But don't think I'm gonna be one of them," she warned.

He shook his head with an amused look.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Jax assured her.

After a few minutes, Half-Sack walked to the bar to get a fresh beer.

"Hi Elena," he said, ducking his head before looking up at her with a shy glance.

She grinned at him, putting him at ease.

"Hey Kip," Elena responded.

Half-Sack smiled happily before walking off once Jax gave him a look.

"Kip?" he said.

Elena looked back at him without hesitation.

"You wouldn't be jealous, would you?"

He let out a deep grumble, shaking his head.

"Jackie boy," Chibs acknowledged, plopping onto a stool next to Elena. "How's the crazy ex?"

Elena glanced between them as Jax shook his head.

"Still crazy," he replied.

"And the kid?"

"You have a kid?" Elena said, surprise in her expression as she looked at Jax.

He hesitated, giving Chibs a glare as the Scotsman grinned back.

"Not yet. My ex-wife is pregnant," Jax finally answered.

"Oh," she said, feeling awkward now that the conversation had gone there.

Elena glanced around, looking for anything to get them out of the conversation. She caught sight of a wall covered in photos and felt curiosity overtaking her. Standing up, she walked towards them. Elena knew without looking back that Jax had followed her.

"Mug shots?" she said with surprise.

He nodded, glancing over them as well.

"Our wall of fame," Jax said with a smirk.

Elena shook her head, rolling her eyes.

"What did you get done for?" she questioned, nodding at his picture.

He looked at her with raised eyebrows and she huffed.

"I'm tired of people avoiding my questions. I'm going to figure something out, you know," Elena warned him.

"I'm sure you are," he agreed.

Elena narrowed her eyes at him but he just grinned back at her. When she realized he wouldn't answer her questions about the club, she settled with other curiosities.

"How old are you?"

Jax let out a short laugh.

"Twenty-seven," he replied.

She felt triumphant that she was able to get at least something out of him.

"Have you lived in Charming all your life? Except for when you were in prison, of course."

He nodded in confirmation.

"Hmm…" she said, trying to think of any other questions. "Are you going to have a son or a daughter?"

Jax looked surprised at her question for a moment before answering.

"A son," he informed her.

She smiled slightly, imagining a little boy with blonde hair and bright blue eyes like his father.

"I bet he'll be cute," Elena decided.

"Yeah?" Jax said, looking at her strangely.

She nodded in reply.

"Just like his father," Elena said simply, nudging his shoulder before turning to walk off.

It felt strangely freeing, flirting with Jax. She didn't know why, but he made her feel less inhibited than she had since her parents' death. Perhaps being in Charming wouldn't be so bad after all.

* * *

"Leave me alone," she said as she heard several people approaching her locker.

"You don't even know what we were going to say," Evan replied.

Elena turned around as she slammed the metal door shut. She was ready to get out of there and the teenage boys surrounding her weren't lifting her annoyed mood at all.

"Blah blah, come party with us and get drunk and let us screw you, blah blah. I've heard it. Go fuck yourself," she said grumpily, pushing past them.

She felt relieved to be walking out of the building, but it was cut short when a hand gripped her arm.

"I don't think you know who the hell you're talking to," Evan said in a dangerous voice, glaring down at her as they stood on the sidewalk.

Suddenly, Elena heard a familiar rumble and turned her head. She knew that she shouldn't be surprised, seeing the motorcycle headed down the street. A small smile formed on her face as the rider approached. When he stopped in front of them, Jax pulled his helmet off.

"There a problem here?" he asked, looking between them.

Evan released her as if he was burned and she turned towards him, smirking proudly.

"I don't think you know who the hell you're talking to," Elena said, taking a step back.

She took the helmet when Jax offered it to her, climbing on the motorcycle with him.

"Gemma talked to you?" she said, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"She's protective of the people she likes," Jax said simply as they pulled away.

Elena smiled wider, waving goodbye as they pulled away from the curb. They didn't go straight to the garage, stopping at a gas station instead.

"You need anything?" Jax asked, cutting off the engine.

Elena shrugged, following him inside.

"You never know," she said simply.

As she wandered, she heard Jax having a conversation with a cashier. Elena let out a laugh when she saw the young woman pull her shirt down to show off her cleavage. She met Jax at a display of books, watching when he picked up a childrens' story and looked at the cover.

"Get it," she encouraged.

Jax looked at her with a questioning look.

"You can read it to your son one day," she shrugged.

He grinned and nodded, picking up the book before going to the cash register. Elena didn't miss the dirty look that 'Louise' sent her as she walked towards the front of the store. When she heard a loud noise, Elena turned around and looked through the windows, her eyes widening when she saw a fiery explosion lifting into the air.

"What the hell is that?" she said loudly.

Jax turned to see what she was talking about, his eyes widening at the sight.

"Oh, shit!" he cursed, leaving his purchases behind as he grasped her arm and pulled her outside.

Elena watched as he climbed on the bike quickly, barely taking time to buckle his helmet in place. She knew that he was in a hurry, climbing on behind him before holding on tight. Jax sped to the garage, only allowing her to get off.

"What is that?" Elena questioned, looking behind him where she could still see the black smoke.

"Nothing," he answered, obviously distracted.

She glowered at him, knowing that he was lying.

"One of these days, I want to know the truth," Elena said angrily.

He shook his head, giving her a warning look.

"Trust me, you don't," Jax said simply before driving off.

She stared at him as he went, her arms crossed over her chest. As she turned her head and looked up at the mushroom cloud, Elena felt even more determined to figure out what was going on in this town.

* * *

**Please let me know what you think!**


	3. Bring My Soul to Bare

**Disclaimer: I do not own TVD or SoA.**

**Thank you so much to Dark Alana, Mildchild, wildwolfrose, beverlie4055, JMHUW, cdsnow, CrissanaSomerhalder, Dean Winchester Rocks, JaxElenafan, TheMotionlessMermaid, and DemonTrapsAndVervain for reviewing! I appreciate all of your comments!**

**Chapter Title: Nothing But the Water – Grace Potter and the Nocturnals**

**A few things:**

**1. Elena's outfits are on my profile.**

**2. I'm so sorry if the ending seems rushed. I was exhausted while writing it.**

**3. Enjoy and please review!**

* * *

"You're kidding."

Elena shook her head, glancing up at the screen of her computer.

"Elijah dropped you off with a motorcycle club?" Caroline asked with disbelief.

She sighed, glancing around before looking back at her friend. Currently, she was sitting on the back porch of Gemma and Clay's house.

"I don't even know how to deal with this shit, Care," she admitted, carefully painting her nails.

"Yeah, it's pretty complex," Caroline agreed.

Elena leaned back against the wall of the house, chewing on her lip.

"I don't like being kept in the dark. You know that. It took me less than a month to figure out that Stefan and Damon are vampires. I don't really want to wait that long here," she sighed.

"Well if it was up to me, you would be on the first flight back to Virginia," Caroline muttered, looking clearly unhappy.

She shook her head again.

"No, Elijah brought me here for a reason."

"Why? What possible reason would he have for throwing you into that place without at least warning you?"

Elena shrugged, unsure of what to say.

"I have some sort of…connection here. I'm not sure why or how, or even what it is. I think Elijah must have known," she said, staring off into space as she spoke.

"A connection?" Caroline said doubtfully.

"I know it sounds crazy, trust me I do. I just…I feel like everything is leading me to figure out what the hell is up with this town. I mean, no place that's called Charming is actually, you know…charming."

The blonde looked at her through the camera on her computer with a raised eyebrow.

"What about the hot biker guy with the unfair blue eyes?" she asked.

Elena blew on her nails, trying not to react to the mention of Jax.

"He is…infuriating," she said, picking up the bottle of polish to paint her other hand.

"Last time I checked, you have a thing for infuriating guys," Caroline reminded her.

She stuck out her tongue at the webcam, careless of how childish it was. Her friend laughed, shaking her head.

"Tyler just got here and we're going out for dinner. Just…think about what I said. If you want to leave that place, Elijah can figure out something else. He can't force you to stay in a town that's unsafe."

Elena nodded, though she barely gave any thought to her words. She didn't plan on leaving Charming any time soon. She stuck by her own words that Elijah dropped her there for a reason. There was just the matter of figuring out what that was. Once Caroline hung up, she clicked over to her iTunes and turned on a playlist, humming along to the music.

"This relaxes you?"

She turned her head, watching as Gemma stepped out.

"It's mindless," Elena answered, looking down at her nails. "My mom always encouraged me to do something like this when I had a lot to think about. It helps me take a breath and consider it."

"That's good advice," Gemma said, sitting down in a chair nearby.

She didn't reply, simply nodding as she painted the polish perfectly over her nails.

"What is it that you're thinking about?"

Elena sighed, looking over at her.

"Mostly how much I hate being lied to," she informed her.

The other woman looked at her warily.

"We're not lying to you," Gemma said.

"A lie by omission is still a lie."

They both remained silent for about a minute.

"It's not all about keeping you in the dark," Gemma said, passing over a cigarette.

Elena took it, leaning in to allow her to light it.

"It's about the protection of the club. We all take that seriously. It's why outsiders don't know much about the inner workings of SAMCRO," she continued, puffing on her own cigarette. "So before you digging, like Elijah warned us that you would do, you better decide if you really want to know everything. Because once you're in, there's only a few ways you can go from there."

"What are those ways?" Elena questioned.

Gemma didn't answer, simply giving her a smile.

"You're a good girl," she said, standing up. "I'm not gonna lie, I think I'm rooting for you."

She watched as the older woman turned to walk inside again.

"The rest of the club. Do they know what you know? About vampires and that sort of thing?" Elena asked.

Gemma glanced over at her.

"That shit doesn't come anywhere near Charming. They don't need to know," she said simply.

Elena sighed, shaking her head.

"I just keep wondering why Elijah brought me here of all places. He's got to have allies all over the world, some that he trusts a lot more than you and Clay. Why Charming?" she wondered.

Gemma considered her words for a moment.

"Maybe he knew that there's something you needed here," she suggested.

Elena wondered if Gemma was trying to say what she thought she was trying to say.

"I have a family back home," she said.

"Yeah? How hard did they fight to keep you at this so-called home?" Gemma challenged.

She hesitated, looking up at her.

"They didn't have a choice," Elena said quietly.

"Everyone has a choice. They could have asked you to stay. You could have gone wherever you wanted, or stayed in Virginia if you wanted that. Instead you let Elijah bring you here and you barely made a complaint when he left."

Gemma stared at her, just waiting for a denial.

"The truth is that you've settled all too well in Charming and that probably scares you a little. But what scares you even more is that we don't scare you. The club doesn't scare you and the reaper doesn't scare you. It all just makes you curious. And the more curious you get, the more you try to dig and find shit out, the closer you get to the people around you. Sweetheart, by the time you figure out the truth about us, you won't even give a damn what dirty secrets we got hidden. Cause you'll only want to help us protect them."

Elena frowned up at her.

"You don't know anything about me, Gemma," she sighed, looking away from her.

"Prove me wrong, then," the other woman said.

She didn't glance up at her at the sound of the challenge.

"Dig deep, figure out everything you can. Then just try to think about leaving. It won't be as easy as you think. These boys have a habit of locking your heart up good and tight. Trust me, you were captivated the second you crossed the border into our town," Gemma said, leaving her words hanging in the air as she went inside.

Elena took a deep breath, closing her eyes as she flicked the ashes out of the end of the cigarette.

"Shit," she muttered, wondering what the hell Elijah got her into.

* * *

Clay was furious, even the day after the explosion. Everyone in his vicinity knew that. Jax glanced over at the president as the pulled up to what used to be their gun factory. Now it was a burned up mess.

"What the hell happened?" Clay demanded as they walked towards the remains of the building.

Vic Trammel, one of the county sheriffs who was on their payroll, walked towards them with his hands on his hips and a frown on his face.

"Propane tanks caught fire. Ammo was in there. The place just blew," he shrugged, walking with them.

"Shit," Clay sighed.

"Yeah. The fire dick says it was arson," Vic nodded in agreement. "Saw a lot of boot prints."

"Cowboy boots?" Bobby piped up.

"Yeah, I think so."

Tig let out a growl, kicking at a piece of rubble.

"Shit-eating Mayans, man," he snapped angrily.

"Where the hell was Rodrigo?" Jax wondered, glancing around.

"No sign of your watchman," Vic informed them.

Jax exchanged a look with Bobby. That didn't sound very good for Rodrigo.

"What's the exposure?" Clay asked.

"Officially? Me and the fire department. The fire captain can be convinced to rethink his report," Vic said, turning to face them.

"Unofficially?" Jax questioned.

"Unofficially, this blast was seen in two counties. This location is dead," the sheriff sighed.

They all let out a collective groan, knowing how much trouble it would be to find a new location and the money to put into it without the guns.

"The M4s?" Clay demanded, thinking along the same lines.

"Gone. As are most of the Glocks," Vic informed them.

The president of SAMCRO let out a curse, slamming his foot into a pile of burnt crates.

"Get the firemen on board. Don't want this shit hitting ATF's radar," Jax said, handing Vic a few hundreds. "Let's get out of here."

"No, you gotta see something else," Vic said, stopping them as they turned away.

Clay huffed, glancing over his shoulder.

"Do we really?"

The police officer nodded, leading them over to a metal door in the ground. When he opened it, they all recoiled at the sight of the two burned bodies.

"Goddamn. Fried and refried," Clay said, shaking his head.

"They're illegals," Tig informed them, looking slightly pale. "Part of our assembly crew."

"We found them before the F.D. went through," Vic assured them.

"After the smoke clears, get rid of the bodies," Clay instructed the sheriff.

"What am I supposed to tell our boys up in Oaktown? I'm supposed to deliver five cases of M4s to Laroy before tomorrow morning."

Clay sighed, closing his eyes.

"Call the gangster hotline, set a meeting," he decided, nodding at Vic before turning to leave.

"All right, here," Jax said, handing even more money over.

As they walked back towards their bikes, Clay took his gun out and held it out to Jax.

"Two in the back of the head. Quick and painless," he said, only half joking.

"It ain't easy being king," Jax shrugged.

"Yeah, you remember that," Clay warned.

* * *

The entire day at school, Elena heard whispers about the explosion. There were a lot of theories and most of them centered on the Sons. By the time she left school and met Gemma at the curb, Elena's head was full of possibilites. She didn't mention any of them.

"We're going grocery shopping."

Elena looked over at her with raised eyebrows.

"Good?" she said, confused as to why that was a remarkable thing

"There's gonna be a dinner at ours tomorrow night, the extended SAMCRO family is invited. I just wanted to give you a heads up," Gemma said simply.

"Another party?" Elena said, feeling slightly put off by this.

She didn't really know if she was ready to spend another night around everyone so soon, especially since there would be more to meet. There was also the fact that she was still frustrated over being kept in the dark about SAMCRO.

"We like these get-togethers," Gemma shrugged.

Before she could argue, the other woman dialed a number and connected it to the phone in the car.

"Hey Ma," Jax answered.

"Hey baby. Did you go to storage?" Gemma questioned.

"Not yet."

She rolled her eyes, knowing that her son would put it off until the last minute if she didn't make him go.

"I hope there's something you can use. Haven't looked through that baby stuff in years."

"I'm sure anything will help," Jax replied.

"Still coming to dinner tomorrow night? I'm picking up steaks from German," Gemma informed him.

"Oh, you know it," he said.

His tone that made it clear he was smiling. Elena stared at the window, frowning as she remembered how angry he made her with his refusal to tell her anything.

"You should bring Chibs and that new kid," Gemma said, oblivious to her darkening mood.

"New kid doesn't eat meat," Jax said.

"Don't patch him in. Can't trust anyone who doesn't eat meat."

Jax let out a laugh over the phone.

"Hey, you heard from my crazy ex-wife at all? Never answers her goddamn phone," he muttered, clearly frustrated.

"That's because she knows it's you," Gemma reminded him.

He huffed out a sigh.

"She's supposed to be sending me the doctor bills. Haven't seen one in weeks," Jax said, sounding slightly concerned.

"Elena and I will go by on our way home," Gemma assured him.

"Elena's with you?"

She glanced over to see Gemma giving her an encouraging look.

"Hi Jax," Elena said in a short voice.

"Hey Elena," he said, sounding uncertain.

Gemma glanced between her and the speaker with raised eyebrows.

"Anyway, we'll go by your house on the way home," she continued.

"Thanks...Grandma!" Jax said with amusement in his voice.

"Asshole!" she fired back before hanging up.

* * *

As soon as they finished at the grocery store, Elena and Gemma headed to Jax's house.

"So he owns it but she lives here?" she asked once they pulled up.

Gemma nodded in confirmation, climbing out of the car. Elena followed her up to the front door. After knocking for several minutes with no answer, the older woman huffed and shook her head.

"Wendy!" Gemma called, walking around the house. "Go to the back door. See if it's open."

Elena hurried to the back door just in time to hear the other woman let out a blistering curse. She found that it was open and walked in, wrinkling her nose at the smell in the house. By the time she made it to the kitchen, Elena knew exactly what Gemma saw. A heavily pregnant woman that she assumed to be Wendy was lying on the ground with a needle still in her hand and blood spreading from between her thighs.

"I'm calling the goddamn ambulance," Gemma said from behind her, fury clear in her voice.

She barely listened, walking to the woman's side before kneeling on the ground. Elena felt for her pulse, relieved when she found it thrumming strongly. Wendy stirred at her touch, her eyelids fluttering.

"It's okay," Elena found herself saying, taking the hand that was reaching out for comfort. "We're going to get you to a hospital. You'll be okay."

Gemma scoffed behind her but she didn't listen, watching as Wendy opened her eyes slightly. She looked up with a dazed expression before meeting Elena's eyes.

"Hurts," Wendy whimpered.

"I know, but the ambulance is coming and everything will be okay."

Elena knew that it was a lie. The amount of blood on the floor was startling and she hated to think of what state the baby was in at the moment. She just remained at Wendy's side, holding her hand and stroking her sweat-soaked hair until the EMTs came. Once they had her loaded into the ambulance, Gemma took Elena's hand.

"Go with her," she instructed, shoving her towards the truck.

"Okay," she said, nodding as her heart pounded in her chest.

"I'm going to the clubhouse. Jax isn't answering his phone and I need to get him."

Elena climbed up into the ambulance, sitting out of the way as the paramedics worked on Wendy. By the time they made it to the hospital, they had determined that the baby was likely in distress. She was put in the waiting room to wait on information. A doctor stepped inside, a woman with dark hair and a solemn expression.

"What's going on?" Elena asked, jumping up.

"I'm Dr Knowles, I'm helping with Wendy."

"Elena," she replied simply.

Dr Knowles took a deep breath.

"I can't tell you anything, I'm sorry. You're not on Wendy's contact list."

Elena nodded, knowing how that worked.

"I think that Gemma is on her way with Jax. I'll go call her."

Dr Knowles stepped aside to let her through, giving her a strange look that Elena didn't see. She went outside of the hospital to call Gemma. Before she could get the number dialed, four motorcycles roared into the parking lot followed by Gemma's car. Clay, Chibs, and Bobby were with Jax.

"What's happening?" he asked, hurrying towards her.

With everything going on at the moment, Elena completely forgot to be mad at him.

"I don't know. They wouldn't tell me anything," she said, hurrying inside with them.

They didn't even wait for the elevator, darting up the stairs.

"I found these matches next to a bunch of her empty thumb bags. Hairy Dog," Gemma said, handing them over to Clay as they rushed down the hall.

"Shit," he growled, shaking his head. "It's gotta be the Nords dealing out of the Dog again."

"Darby got out of Chino two weeks ago," Bobby informed them.

"Yeah, well, call that Nazi prick. Set a meeting," Clay snapped.

As they reached Wendy's room, they saw that she was sleeping. Dr Knowles stepped out, taking a deep breath as they approached.

"What the hell happened?" Jax demanded.

"When was the last time you saw her?" the doctor asked.

"Couple of weeks," he answered.

She glanced around at them all before speaking.

"Her hands and feet were full of tracks. Toxicology reports aren't back yet, but it's most likely crank," the doctor said quietly.

Gemma looked murderous as Jax's eyes widened.

"The baby?" he breathed.

"We had to do an emergency C-section. He's ten weeks premature."

Elena's heart dropped as Jax's hand shot out and grasped hers automatically. She squeezed it gently, knowing that he needed some sort of comfort, no matter how small.

"Holy shit," Jax said quietly, stepping backwards.

"Come on, let's sit down and I'll walk you through it," Dr Knowles said, glancing down at Elena and Jax's joined hands with a small frown.

Jax shook his head.

"Just tell me," he refused as Gemma stepped forward as well, touching her hand to Elena's other shoulder.

"He's got a congenital heart defect and gastroschisis, a tear in his abdomen. The gastro and the early birth are from the drugs. But the CHD is probably…"

"The family flaw," Gemma interrupted the doctor.

The doctor nodded in agreement.

"Yes, it's genetic. Either one would be serious, but not life threatening. However, the two of them together…" she hesitated before continuing. "Dr Namid gives him a twenty percent chance, and I'm afraid that's being optimistic."

Jax inhaled sharply, looking in where Wendy was sedated after the operation.

"She never wanted to talk to me. I didn't know," he said quietly.

"Her OB said she missed her last three appointments. No one knew," Dr Knowles assured him.

Jax closed his eyes for a moment.

"Dr Namid wants to fix his belly first. Then, if he stabilizes, he'll go in and try to repair the heart," the doctor informed them.

She reached out to touch his other shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Jax. I can take you to see him now."

When she turned to go, he didn't follow her. Instead, he turned to look at Elena.

"I know you're pissed. You don't have to stay here," he said, running his free hand through his hair.

She shook her head, giving his hand another soft squeeze.

"I want to be here for you, for your son," Elena spoke before she really thought her words through.

He gave her a grateful look.

"His name's Abel," Jax informed her.

She smiled slightly, nodding at him.

"That's a good name," Elena said.

Suddenly, without warning, his face went from devastated to determined and furious. When he let go of her hand and turned to walk away, Elena frowned at his back.

"Jax!" she called.

He didn't stop, walking down the hallway with his hands clenched into fists.

"Jackson!" Gemma said, trying to get him back.

"Go with Tara," he said, barely glancing over his shoulder to point at Dr Knowles. "I got something to do."

Elena looked at Gemma and then Clay to see the president of SAMCRO turn to Bobby and Chibs.

"Watch his back."

The other two nodded, hurrying out behind Jax. Gemma put a hand on Elena's arm, steering her towards Tara.

"What is he going to do?" Elena asked in a hushed voice.

"Retaliation," the other woman answered quietly.

They fell silent, approaching the incubation room where Abel was the only baby in one of the chambers. Elena gasped at the sight of him.

"He's tiny," she breathed.

It was a horrible thing to see, a baby who had just come into this world only to be given a death sentence. The only thing that comforted her in the slightest was to see his little chest rising and falling.

"I'll leave you alone," Tara said quietly.

Gemma watched as she went and Elena didn't miss the hint of resentment in her eyes.

"How do you know her?" she asked.

The older woman shook her head, putting her hand on the glass that separated them from the room.

"Tara and Jax used to have a thing, high school sweethearts. She left town and broke his heart."

_Hence the resentment_, Elena thought, immediately understanding why Gemma didn't like the doctor.

"Why is she back?" she wondered.

"I'm not sure but I have a pretty good idea," Gemma muttered.

Elena didn't want to admit to the sour taste that filled her mouth at the thought of Tara winning Jax back, even though she hardly knew the woman. It was none of her business if they continued their relationship. It had nothing whatsoever to do with her.

"Come on, we're not doing any good here," Gemma said, tugging on her arm. "I have an idea of how we can help."

They walked towards the elevators, only stopping when a man was rolled out on a gurney. Elena watched with wide eyes as they hurried past, catching sight of his bruised and bloody face.

"A Nord, one of the drug dealers who gave Wendy the crank. They're white power idiots with Nazi symbols as tattoos," Gemma said quietly as they stepped onto the elevators. "The state of that one is probably Jax's handiwork."

The idea that Jax did that to the man didn't bother Elena near as much as it should have.

* * *

As soon as Jax pulled up to the lumber yard, Opie caught sight of him and walked over.

"So everybody's saying it was a gun factory that blew up out by the streams," he said as they both leaned up against a truck.

Jax nodded, confirming his suspicions as he pulled out a cigarette.

"Mayans hit us. Stole our M4s," he said, glancing over at his best friend. "We need you."

"For what?" Opie asked warily.

"Bobby's got a gig this weekend."

He scoffed, shaking his head as Jax looked on.

"No way man," Opie refused.

"Gotta get in and out fast. You're the only guy who can pull it off," Jax said, trying to convince him.

"You think I wanna be here chipping wood for shit pay? I made a promise to Donna. I'm earning straight," he said insistently.

Jax raised an eyebrow at him.

"Come on, Opie. We all earn straight. I spend forty hours a week with a goddamn power tool in my hand," he reminded him.

Opie stared back, equally unimpressed.

"When you're on Clay's payroll, everything in your hand is a power tool," he said.

Jax sighed, rubbing at his forehead.

"You saying no to the club?"

Opie hesitated before speaking.

"Everything turned to shit since I got out. I'm in debt up to my eyeballs. My kids hardly know me. I even mention SAMCRO to Donna, she's gonna bust out crying."

Jax felt bad for him, wanting to know if he could help.

"Look, man, if you need money…"

"I don't wanna borrow. I wanna earn," Opie said, shaking his head.

They were both quiet for a few moments.

"Family's just gotta adjust to you being around again. Kids have gotta get used to how ugly their dad is," Jax said with a smirk, trying to make him feel better. "Donna knows what the life is."

"You leave a woman alone for five years, two kids…the only thing that she knows is that she doesn't want it to happen again," Opie sighed.

Before either of them could speak, Opie's boss shouted out to his employees.

"Break's over! Let's go!"

Opie straightened up, walking a few steps before glancing back at Jax.

"Let me know when you need me."

* * *

When they arrived at Jax's house for the second time that day, Elena and Gemma did a quick walk around to see all of the work that they had to do. The house was filthy, making it clear that they had a lot of stuff to do to make it actually livable.

"I don't know how she did this," Gemma muttered, shaking her head as she reentered the living room with Elena close behind.

She didn't respond, sidestepping several pieces of trash and beer bottles.

"Do you want bathrooms or kitchen?"

"I'll take the kitchen," Elena volunteered, grabbing one bucket of cleaning supplies. "I'm used to cleaning up blood."

The other woman gave her a look.

"Well, aren't you full of surprises?" Gemma asked.

"I try to be," Elena shrugged with a slight smile.

By the time she finished with the kitchen, making it spotless with all of the spoiled food thrown out, it was already eight-thirty in the evening. They took a break, ordering pizza to be delivered.

"I heard some rumors at school today," Elena brought up, wanting to both distract Gemma and get some answers on some things.

The other woman looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"About?"

"The explosion. Everyone knows it has something to do with the Sons. There were a few interesting theories as to what was actually in the building," Elena informed her.

Gemma looked amused, handing her a beer.

"Which one did you find most plausible?" she asked.

Elena considered it, taking a sip out of the brown bottle.

"Guns," she replied.

The other woman looked slightly impressed, assuring Elena that she was probably on the right path.

"Even if there were guns in there, which I'm not confirming it either way, what makes you and everyone else think that it's a problem? Guns can be legal, you know."

Elena gave her a look that said she wasn't that stupid.

"If there were guns in the warehouse, there is little chance that they were legal. If they were, then why not keep them at the clubhouse? Why have them stored out of Charming?" she questioned.

Gemma let out a laugh, standing up when the doorbell rang. When she came back with the pizza, they ate off of paper plates.

"What's the next best theory?"

"Drugs, probably. But judging by Jax and Clay's reactions when they found out that Wendy got crank from the Nords, I don't think they're really supporting the drug trade," Elena said.

The other woman looked at her with a calculating look.

"What?" she asked.

"You're smart," Gemma said simply.

Elena smiled over at her.

"Is that a bad thing?" she asked.

Gemma shook her head.

"You ready to run away screaming yet?"

Elena considered it for a moment.

"Not yet," she decided, taking a bite of pizza. "I've faced off with the most powerful vampire in the world and lived…sort of. Guys with guns don't scare me all that much."

"They sell them," Gemma said.

"What?"

The other woman looked over at her.

"The club…it sells guns."

Elena remained silent for a while, processing that.

"I'm guessing they don't sell them to the good guys?" she asked.

Gemma huffed out a laugh, standing up to take her plate to the trash.

"Honey, the longer you stick around in Charming, the more you'll figure out that the line between good guy and bad guy is blurred as hell."

* * *

The guys sat around the redwood table, all looking at Clay as he spoke.

"What's the, uh, Nords' roster looking like these days?" the president asked, flicking the ashes of his cigar into a tray.

"Fifteen, sixteen guys. A few new kids breaking in, some as early as high school. Same extreme hate shit," Bobby answered.

"Still got meth labs outside of Lodi. Selling mostly to truckers, some of the Mexi gangs," Juice piped up.

Jax glanced over at Clay.

"You think they're stepping up?" he questioned

"Only two things feel good in the joint: jerking off and thinking about the shit you're gonna do when you get out," he replied, a small frown on his face. "Darby's been in there for three years. I just wanna make sure all his big-shot dreams ended up in his cum rag…and not on his to-do list."

The other guys in the room all laughed at the thought of the leader of the Nords.

"How's his guy doing?" Clay asked.

"Fractured cheek, broken nose, left nut swinging solo," Juice said with a smirk.

"Yes, it was beautiful!" Chibs announced, nodding at Jax. "That's my boy."

The VP shook his head.

"Yeah, he's lucky to be breathing," Jax said darkly.

Clay waited until the room sobered up to speak again.

"So, uh, any luck up north?" he asked, nodding at Happy.

"Tacoma can help with the Glocks, but there's no M4s anywhere. Washington State, Oregon, Nevada, nobody's got stock, man," he replied.

"We'll have all the Mayan intel by the morning. We'll get our guns back," Jax said confidently.

Juice nodded in agreement.

"Oh, yeah, we will," Clay confirmed, clearly expecting nothing less. "Treasury?"

Bobby took a deep breath.

"All the bills are paid. Bar is stocked. Run fund is covered for the next two months. Tig's the only man who owes me dues," he informed them all.

The sergeant-at-arms nodded.

"I'm a little short. Catch you next week."

"All right. Anything else?" Clay asked.

No one spoke up until the oldest member of the club lifted his hand.

"Yeah, I, uh, just wanna say to Jackson on a club level…the Sons of Anarchy, the Redwood Original, is here for you," he said, nodding at Jax. "Your father would be proud of the man you've become, you know. Every time I see you sitting at this table, well, I do a double take at you."

"It's probably just the weed, Pop," Opie spoke up, making everyone else laugh.

Piney nodded in agreement, letting out a short chuckle.

"Probably. Anyway, whatever you need, son, it's yours."

Jax gave him a grateful look.

"Thank you, Piney. Thanks boys," he said quietly.

When no one else spoke, Clay pounded the gavel on the wood.

"Meeting closed," he announced.

* * *

By the time Jax walked through the front door, Elena was exhausted. She and Gemma were cleaning up the living room together, wanting to get that done before leaving for the night.

"It's almost midnight," he said, frowning between them.

Gemma huffed, shaking her head.

"This place is a goddamn pigsty," she said with frustration.

Jax nodded in agreement, stepping around several trash bags.

"Cleaning was never her strong suit," he said.

Gemma stopped what she was doing and looked up at him.

"What are you doing here?"

"It's my house," he reminded her.

"You know what I mean. I don't want you to see it this way," she said, picking up a rag to wipe down the coffee table.

Jax sighed, shaking his head as Elena stopped for a moment and sat down on the ground, wiping at her forehead with a deep breath.

"You don't have to do this," he said.

"Look, I just wanna get it livable. Buy you some decent carpet. Cigarette burns everywhere," Gemma muttered.

"Mom!" Jax said loudly, trying to get her attention.

She continued on as if she hadn't heard him

"Get you out of that dorm room, back home with your son."

"Mom, for Christ sakes, stop cleaning!" Jax yelled.

She straightened up, looking at him with wide eyes.

"He's not gonna make it," he said, staring back at her.

Both Elena and Gemma looked at him with alarm.

"What are you talking about? What happened?" his mother demanded.

Jax stared at her with a frustrated and broken expression.

"He was born with half a stomach and a hole in his heart. He's gonna die," he said.

Elena winced at the sound of Gemma's hand connecting with his cheek. He inhaled sharply, turning his head back to look at her. His cheek was already turning red.

"Do you say that. You are the only one this boy's got," Gemma said, pointing in his face. "You don't believe he's gonna live, you might as well go and kill him yourself."

She stomped away, going to the kitchen table. Elena stood up, giving Jax an apologetic look.

"I'm sorry," Gemma sighed, glancing over her shoulder at him as she lit a cigarette. "You gotta go see him, Jax."

He shook his head, approaching the table as well.

"I can't."

He sat down, running one hand through his hair. Elena leaned against the wide doorway of the kitchen, biting down on her lower lip.

"Why? Because he'll break your heart?" Gemma said, handing a cigarette over to him. "It's called being a father."

Jax inhaled the smoke before speaking.

"For how long? A day? A week?"

His mother gave him a sad look.

"You know, you were born with that same heart defect your little brother had."

She reached out, tapping at his chest.

"You seem pretty sturdy to me," Gemma said, coaxing a smile out of him. "I came through hell. Landed on my feet. Your father was hit by a goddamn semi, dragged one hundred and seventy-eight yards and that bastard lived for two more days. Tellers do not die easy."

Jax rolled his eyes.

"No, we just die bloody," he replied.

Gemma shrugged, gesturing for Elena to come sit with them.

"That's the Irish in us," she said.

Jax didn't speak for several moments, glancing at Elena sideways with a look of consideration.

"When you and dad hooked up, he ever talk to you about his vision? About what he wanted from the club?" he asked, focusing on his mom again.

Gemma looked up at him.

"His vision was…you know, what it is. A brotherhood. Family," she answered.

"And running guns? He want that?"

Elena's eyes widened at his words. Jax had no way of knowing that she suspected that SAMCRO was into guns. He just spoke freely and honestly in front of her for the first time. Gemma glanced at her before answering.

"He never talked about that. Why?" she asked.

Jax leaned forward, putting his elbows on the table.

"I found a box of his old shit in the storage unit. There's, like, pictures and journals and things I never knew about him," he said, looking up at Gemma for her reaction.

"What kind of things?" she asked, clearly trying to be casual about this.

"It seemed like his original idea for the MC was something simpler. You know, social rebellion. He called it a Harley commune. It wasn't outlaw. It was real hippie shit," Jax informed her.

Gemma scoffed, standing up to walk to the sink.

"We had a lot of bright ideas back then. We were kids," she said, washing out the cups that were sitting on the counter. "Your father became a man. Man take care of business."

Jax nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, we do," he said, glancing over at Elena before standing up as well. "You should get home, Mom. Finish cleaning tomorrow. I'll lock up."

He walked over, giving her a kiss on the cheek.

"Okay darling," Gemma said after a moment, nodding at Elena.

They both walked into the living room, gathering their things before heading to the door.

"Good night," Jax called after them.

"Good night baby," Gemma replied.

Elena just waved at him, walking out after the other woman. When she was halfway to the car, she realized belatedly that she left her phone in the kitchen.

"Shit, I left something there."

Gemma glanced over at her.

"Go get it. I'll wait," she assured her.

Elena nodded, turning to hurry back inside. When she walked into the kitchen, Jax was pulling a gun out of one of the drawers. She stared at it with wide eyes, wondering where he got it from since she organized all of those drawers herself and never saw a gun. He turned to look at her, seeing the question in her eyes.

"Secret compartment," he said, shoving the weapon in the back of his pants.

"Aren't you stealthy?" Elena replied, looking at the small bags of white powder in his other hand.

Jax hesitated before turning to walk out of the kitchen. She grabbed her phone off of the counter, turning to leave before they got into an awkward confrontation about what she saw. Elena didn't make it to the to the door before Jax grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

"I didn't see anything," she sighed as he pressed her against the wall.

"You saw me flushing my ex's drugs down the toilet so that she wouldn't get sent to jail and so that I wouldn't be on the hook since it's my house," Jax said, refuting her statement.

Elena stared up at him, crossing her arms over her chest. He put a hand on the wall by her head, leaning in towards her.

"Well that's none of my business," she said, fearlessly maintaining eye contact with him.

He looked impressed at her words.

"When I brought up gun running, you didn't even flinch," Jax said.

Elena took a deep breath, her senses filling with his cologne.

"Everyone in this town is talking about the warehouse exploding and they all have their theories. Guns was the most likely explanation so I've been aware all day. Gemma confirmed it for me," she shrugged, trying not to betray the quick beating of her heart.

He grinned at her.

"I should have known you'd figure it out."

Elena didn't have time to ask him what he meant by that as Jax leaned in. He pressed a soft kiss to her cheek, his other hand gripping her hip gently. Warm shivers ran through her body at the feel of him so close to her.

"Good night," he whispered.

She watched as he turned, walking away with that swagger of his.

"Good night," Elena breathed before turning to hurry out of the door.

If Gemma noticed her flushed cheeks as she climbed into the passenger seat of the car, the other woman didn't mention anything.

* * *

Jax and Clay sat in a booth at a diner across from Darby and his number two the next morning. Bobby was behind them at another table and Tig was behind the Nords, both listening in on the conversation.

"A little get-well present for your guy, Darby," Clay said, sliding a wooden box across the table.

Darby opened it to see that there was a handgun there.

"That's some serious iron. Izzy'll like that, thank you," he said, nodding at them as he closed the box.

Jax smirked at him.

"Figured we would give him something that had some balls," he said, proud of his handiwork.

Before the Nords could get pissed at his words, Clay spoke up.

"I know what it's like running a crew. Sometimes your guys do shit without thinking things through," he said.

"My guys are thinking just fine," Darby said, shaking his head.

Jax's smirk fell as he glowered at him.

"They thinking fine when they sell crank to my pregnant ex?" he demanded.

It was Darby's turn to smirk.

"That was unfortunate. How's your little family doing, anyway?"

Before anyone could stop him, Jax launched across the table to wrap his hands around Darby's throat. Bobby reached up to pull him back as Tig held the other Nord back from getting a hold of Jax.

"All right, all right, everybody contain your shit," Clay said, trying to settle the table down. "You done?"

Jax nodded stiffly, brushing Bobby's hands away.

"Yeah," he snapped angrily.

Clay huffed out a sigh, glancing around the diner.

"Sorry folks. Go back to your corndogs. Won't happen again."

Once they were settled, Darby spoke up again.

"I made sure the brotherhood had Opie's back every minute that he was in Chino," he reminded them.

"Oh, I know how it works inside, Darby. Question is, do you remember how it works outside?" Clay questioned.

"A lot changes in three years," the Nord second-in-command said.

Clay glared over at him.

"And a lot stays the same. Nothing happens in Charming we don't control or get a piece of."

"If we wanted a meth trade, we'd have one," Bobby spoke up.

"We don't," Jax added.

Darby and the other guy looked pissed but didn't speak up yet.

"You know the drill. I mean, you can cook all the crank you want along the border. But you do not deal in Charming," Clay said in a low voice.

"We ain't the only cook shop in town. Devil wants in, he'll get in," Darby said.

Clay smirked at him.

"Well, then you got your work cut out for you. Because the next time the devil crosses the border, I'm coming after you. And next time, I'm not gonna use a 357 as a get-well present," he warned the other man.

Darby held his hands up in surrender.

"There's no need to be making threats. Me and my boys have always managed to make things work with SAMCRO."

"Good," Clay nodded, standing up.

Jax followed, tossing a twenty-dollar bill on the table.

"Milk and cookies are on us."

* * *

Elena and Gemma both stood up as Tara approached. They were waiting for word on Abel after his stomach surgery, both glad to see that they were going to get some sort of news.

"Abel's stomach surgery went well, but it's putting a strain on his system. Dr Namid doesn't want to wait. We should do the heart surgery now," the doctor informed them.

"That's good, right? That they're not waiting?" Elena asked.

"It's the best choice, yes," she nodded.

They both sighed with relief and Gemma squeezed Elena's arm gently.

"Thanks," the older woman said, nodding at the doctor.

Tara hesitated before speaking again.

"Can we talk?" she asked, focused on Gemma.

She sighed, glancing back at Elena before nodding at Tara.

"What is it?"

"Wendy's in really bad shape. She's still detoxing. Can't stop crying," she said, looking concerned.

"And?" Gemma said, clearly wondering where she was going with this.

"I was hoping maybe you could talk to her. Just let her know she's not all alone," Tara encouraged her.

She let out a short laugh, shaking her head.

"Trust me. Nothing I say to that crank whore is gonna make her feel loved," Gemma said simply.

"I forgot just how forthright you can be," Tara scoffed.

"You forgot a lot of things, sweetheart."

The doctor lifted her chin defiantly and Elena couldn't help but feel impressed. Not a lot of people could look at Gemma like that.

"If you have a problem with me assisting on Abel's case, just say so," Tara said.

"You a good doctor?" Gemma questioned.

"Yes," she nodded.

"Then I don't have a problem."

Tara narrowed her eyes.

"Look, people change. I'm not the same girl I was ten years ago," she said.

"I am," Gemma said with a smirk.

Tara shook her head, turning to walk away. Gemma reached out, tugging her top up to reveal a tattoo on her lower back. Elena only got a glimpse at a crow before Tara yanked it down and turned around with a glare.

"Guess there's some things you can't change," Gemma said.

"I leave it there so I remember all that shit's behind me," Tara hissed.

The other woman rolled her eyes.

"Forgot just how clever you can be," she said before turning away.

As she walked back over, Gemma pulled her purse up onto her shoulder. Elena glanced at Tara, giving her an uncertain smile before walking in the opposite direction.

* * *

Jax and Clay gathered in the garage with Juice, Tig, and Chibs, looking over some maps of Oakland to get an idea of where they were going.

"Mayans got two shops where they cut and bag the heroin. twenty minutes outside of Oakland. Here," Jax said, pointing at two different locations.

"Marcus Alvarez, president of the Oakland charter owns both buildings where they run their dope," Juice continued.

Chibs stepped closer, lighting up a cigarette.

"The local cops are on the payroll, so it's a no-hassle gig," he threw in.

"Which makes them lazy. Alvarez don't try too hard to cover his tracks," Jax added.

"He knows that we'd be on to cut shops. He wouldn't take a chance housing the M4s there," Tig reminded them.

Clay nodded in agreement.

"Stores them someplace off the grid."

"Backtracked one of Alvarez' dummy corporations in San Leandro, along the rail line. Here. Marcalva Industrial Storage. Way off the grid," Jax said, circling a building.

Clay grinned at them all, patting Juice on the back.

"Good work, kids."

* * *

Elena took the chance to walk off when Gemma was talking to Jax about the heart surgery. She slipped into Wendy's room, meeting the other woman's confused look with a small smile.

"How are you feeling?"

Wendy turned off the television, putting the remote down.

"Not great. I recognize you," she said with a frown.

"I was with Gemma when she found you at the house. I waited with you until the ambulance came," Elena replied, sitting down in a chair.

She nodded, her eyes lighting up with recognition.

"I remember what you said. It was nice of you," Wendy said quietly, looking down at her lap.

Suddenly her eyes filled with tears and she sat back, wiping at her cheeks furiously.

"I'm not getting a lot of nice right now. Everyone hates me," she cried.

Elena reached out, taking her hand.

"It's looking good for Abel and you're going to heal just fine. That's all that matters."

Wendy looked at her with wide eyes.

"Why are you doing this? I don't even know you," she said, clearly confused.

Elena shrugged, squeezing her hand gently.

"Like you said, you're not getting a lot of nice right now. I figured you could use some," she replied.

Wendy didn't look at less confused, but she did look a little bit grateful.

"I guess I better go before Gemma figures out I'm in here. That wouldn't be comfortable for either of us," Elena said, standing up.

"Yeah," the other woman agreed with a nod.

She smiled at her before turning to leave.

"Hey," Wendy called after her just as she opened the door.

Elena glanced back at her questioningly.

"Thank you."

She nodded at her.

"You're welcome," Elena said before leaving the room.

* * *

As Jax walked up to Opie's house, it didn't take him long to notice the current argument happening in their garage. Donna, Opie's wife, seemed to notice that their kids were watching and hurried them out. As Opie started down the driveway, he looked up and noticed that he was standing there.

"Didn't hear you pull up," his friend said, looking slightly embarrassed.

"Parked down the block. Didn't wanna tweak Donna," Jax said.

"You catch all that?" Opie asked, glancing over his shoulder.

Jax shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Enough."

"I think she's already tweaked," he sighed.

"Yeah," Jax nodded in agreement.

After a moment of hesitation, he made a decision.

"Stay here. I'll handle the run."

"Oh no, I don't show up, Clay will chop off both our dicks," Opie refused, shaking his head.

"Take your kid to the ER. Tell them she hit her head or something. Just get on record being there. I'll cover you with Samcro," Jax said, reaching out to take the bag of explosive materials.

"What about the boom?"

He put it over his shoulder, looking up at his best friend.

"I watched you do it before. I'll call you on the prepay if I need help," Jax assured him.

Opie didn't look convinced.

"Are you sure about this?"

Jax nodded, stepping back.

"Go fix your family," he encouraged.

As he turned away, Opie called after him.

"Hey, why didn't you tell me about your kid?" he asked.

"I didn't know what to say," Jax admitted. "Still don't."

* * *

Once they found the guns and got them in the van, it came down to Jax to wire the warehouse up. He was almost done when he came across a problem. He didn't remember exactly how to hook it up to the detonator.

"Shit," he muttered.

"What the hell is the problem?" Clay demanded.

"Nothing," he said, pulling his phone out. "I just gotta check something with Opie."

Tig and Happy came back in with questioning looks.

"Guns are loaded. What's the holdup?" Tig demanded.

Before either of them could answer, they heard a vehicle pulling up.

"We got company. Gotta be the Mayans," Clay said angrily. "Get the van out of sight, lay low."

"Let's go," Tig said, hurrying out again with Happy at his heels.

Clay turned around, glaring at Jax.

"You. With me."

They ran outside in time to see the Mayans driving in through the gate.

"Shit!" Clay cursed. "We should've been long gone by now."

"Well, we got the iron. Let's get the hell out of here," Jax suggested.

Clay shook his head.

"I came to send a message. Those two wetbacks see that busted back door, they'll call for backup."

"Blowing up shit's one thing. We off these guys, could trigger something out of control," Jax warned him..

"Well, that's the cost of your mistake. You got a problem making it right?" Clay snapped.

He started forward, pulling his gun out. Jax reached out and stopped him.

"I'll draw them to the dumpster," he sighed.

Jax hurried out and picked up a blanket, wrapping it around his head and torso so that they couldn't see his face or the black beanie that he wore. He staggered towards the dumpster, singing in a slurred voice. When the Mayans, they came over.

"Hey," one of them said, turning Jax around. "Tell your dirtbag buddies, they camp out here, they get some of this."

He hit Jax and he staggered back, drawing his gun as he threw off the blanket. Just as he knocked one Mayan to the ground, the other pulled a weapon.

"No, bang bang, por favor," Clay said, putting a gun to his head.

He took the other guy's gun, tossing it away.

"You tell your dirtbag buddies, they steal from SAMCRO, they get some of this."

Without hesitation, Clay shot the other Mayan in the throat. Neither of them saw a third run out as they forced the remaining guy on his knees. When the truck was started and the third guy started driving, Happy hurried out.

"I got him."

Happy leapt onto the back of the truck, shooting through the back and causing the truck to roll to a stop.

"Go check the back. Make sure that's all of them," Jax instructed Tig and Happy.

They hurried off, looking around for any remaining Mayans.

"He's all yours," Clay said, gesturing to the guy on his knees.

Jax glared at his receding back, looking down at the man who was pleading for his life in Spanish. Before he could shoot him, three shots landed on his back. He fell to the ground with a shout, turning over to shoot the man who had taken him by surprise. Just as the Mayan leapt up from his knees, Clay shot him with an M4. Jax refused help, standing up by himself.

"I'm all right. Got the vest," he sighed, wincing at the dull pain that still radiated through his torso.

"Finish it," Clay said, nodding at the man who shot him.

He was breathing, though it was labored. Jax looked over at Clay with a frown before lifting his gun. He hesitated, watching as the man slumped down and let out his last breath.

"It's finished," he decided as the others ran up.

"Oh Mary, mother of Christ, I leave you bad boys for two minutes and it all turns to shit," Chibs said, shaking his head with disbelief.

Jax maintained eye contact with Clay as Tig checked on the last guy to make sure he was dead.

"We're all good." Jax said.

"Let's get out of here," Clay said, sounding pissed.

Tig looked up at them.

"Clay, look at this."

They all walked over to see that the guy was white and that he had a swastika tattoo.

"Darby's guy," Jax realized.

"Darby did make some new friends in Chino," Clay sighed.

The other exchanged wary looks.

"White boy must've sucked lots of brown dick," Tig muttered.

"Nords crew up with the Mayans, gives them numbers, access to guns," Jax nodded.

"A common enemy, us," Clay continued.

They all straightened up, realizing the same thing at the same time.

"Darby wants Charming," Jax said, putting it into words.

"There goes the neighborhood," Clay said before shooting up a sign.

Chibs helped Jax wire up the rest of the explosives before they ran out, getting halfway to the truck before the place blew up. The rest of the guys cheered as they pulled away but Jax sat silently in the backseat, staring off into space.

* * *

It wasn't long after Abel came out of recovery that Jax showed up. Elena was walking down the hall when she saw him come across Tara.

"Is he gonna be okay?" she heard him say, watching from a distance.

The doctor nodded, a smile forming on her face.

"He looks good."

Jax grinned, pulling her into a hug. It only lasted a few seconds before Tara pulled away with wide eyes. She reached out, unzipping his jacket. Even from where she was, Elena could see the blood soaked into his shirt.

"Clean yourself up, Jax," Tara snapped, turning to walk off.

He took a deep breath before slipping into a nearby bathroom without noticing Elena's presence. She walked to a nearby laundry cart, pulling out a set of scrubs that would fit him. When she knocked on the door, he didn't answer right away.

"Occupied," Jax said simply.

"I know. I brought you something to change into," she replied.

He sounded surprised when he spoke again.

"It's unlocked."

Elena stepped inside, closing the door before turning to face him. Her eyes widened at the sight of the black reaper tattoo that covered the expanse of his back, as well as the name of the club. That wasn't the only thing that caught her eye. There were three distinctive bruises on his smooth skin.

"Are those…from bullets?" she asked, stepping forward.

Jax nodded, glancing at her in the mirror.

"I had a vest on," he said, turning to face her.

She tried her best not to admire his toned abdomen, something that he clearly noticed.

"Thanks for the clothes," Jax said with a smirk.

Elena looked into his eyes.

"You're welcome," she said, shaking her head with a slight smile. "We can go to the incubation chamber when you're done. Abel is ready for visitors."

Jax looked relieved, nodding as he pulled the scrub shirt over his head.

"I'll be out in a second."

She waited outside of the bathroom, holding a trash bag towards him when he stepped outside with his bloodied clothes.

"I'll take them to Gemma's house to be cleaned," she offered.

"You don't have to do that," Jax said as they walked towards the NICU.

"I don't mind."

They fell into silence when they reached the door. Elena hesitated, watching as he walked in. When he glanced back and gestured for her to follow, she smiled and stepped inside as well. They were watching the rise and fall of Abel's chest when Gemma came in, putting a hand on Jax's shoulder.

"He's perfect," she breathed.

Jax nodded in agreement, taking Elena's hand in his.

"He is."

* * *

By the time Elena was ready to leave the hospital, Gemma and Jax wanted to stick around for a while. The latter called Half-Sack to come take her home. When she got on the bike behind the prospect, he asked where she wanted to go. Elena thought about it for a moment before making up her mind. As soon as she arrived at Jax's house, she got to work. As tired as she was, she wanted to do something to help. Cleaning up the rest of the house was the only thing she could think of. By the time she had the living room and bedrooms cleared of trash and cleaned up, she was absolutely exhausted. Elena changed a load of laundry from the washer into the dryer and did a final check of the house.

When she sat down on the couch, she only planned to rest for a few moments before calling someone to come pick her up. Instead, she accidentally ended up falling asleep. Elena woke up to someone shaking her gently. She opened her eyes to see Jax there, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"You didn't have to do this," he said, helping her to her feet.

She yawned, stretching up before staggering into him.

"I like helping," Elena mumbled tiredly.

He let out a laugh, holding her steady as he walked out with her. Gemma was waiting, a look of amusement on her face as Jax helped her into the car. Before he could move away, Elena clutched at his arm.

"I'm glad your son is going to be okay," she said, looking up at him with a smile.

He nodded in agreement.

"Me too," Jax sighed, looking relieved.

She pulled him down, kissing his cheek sloppily.

"You'll be a good dad, I think," Elena decided, leaning back in her seat with a lazy smile.

Jax grinned at her, pulling her hand away from his arm.

"See you tomorrow sleepyhead," he said, ruffling her hair before closing the door.

Elena drifted in and out of sleep, not noticing the calculating look that Gemma kept giving her the entire ride to the house. Clay ended up helping her inside, closing the door behind him once she was sitting on the bed. Elena barely slid beneath her blankets before she was falling asleep again. Her last thought was that she was glad that Elijah brought her to Charming.

* * *

**I would love to hear what you think!**


	4. I Think With My Heart

**Disclaimer: I do not own TVD or SoA.**

**Thank you so much to Dark Alana, Mildchild, wildwolfrose, beverlie4055, JMHUW, cdsnow, CrissanaSomerhalder, Dean Winchester Rocks, JaxElenafan, TheMotionlessMermaid, and DemonTrapsAndVervain for reviewing! I appreciate all of your comments!**

**Chapter Title: Come With Me Now - KONGOS**

**A few things:**

**1. I've made a decision. In this particular story, because I can and cause it makes things easier for the purpose of the storyline, Elena has no idea who her father is. It never came out that John Gilbert was her father (because he's not). When he made the sacrifice, it was for his niece, not his daughter.**

**2. Elena has a few doubts in this chapter, but I wanted to write it realistically. After all, she isn't used to outright criminals. Vampires and such yes, but people who break the law and actively hate law enforcement is something that she's not used to. She just has to adjust and I wanted to show that here.**

**3. Thank you so much to Dark Alana for swapping ideas and helping me out with writing whenever I need it. You're the best.**

**4. As always, Elena's outfits are on my profile.**

* * *

_Music played loudly, drowning out the conversations around her. She didn't care, only focusing on the beer in her hand. He would be coming along any moment, she was sure. He promised her after all. There were eyes on her from all directions, which didn't surprise her. She knew that they'd been talking about her. What else would they gossip about? She didn't mind. After all, being the center of attention was where she was most comfortable. Just as she took a long drink of her beer, a hand touched her arm lightly. She turned with a smile, relieved that he finally came to find her. Just before she caught sight of his face, a voice from far away reached her ears. She looked around with confusion without responding to his persistent attempts to get her attention._

"_Elena!" _

_She stood, stepping away from him and towards the door of the clubhouse._

"Elena!"

Elena gasped, sitting up in bed. She pressed her hand to her chest to feel her racing heart, looking around to see Gemma standing beside her bed with a raised eyebrow. The older woman held up Elena's phone.

"Your alarm has been going off," she said, tossing it in her lap.

"Shit," she sighed, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she pushed aside the strange dream for now. "I'm sorry."

Gemma simply shook her head, watching as Elena climbed out of bed and staggered towards her bathroom.

"I'll make coffee," she volunteered.

"Thanks," Elena said, nodding at her briefly.

She turned the water temperature in the shower to hot before stripping down and climbing in. By the time she was dressed and walking out of the door for school, the strange dream was forgotten.

* * *

When the door to the clubhouse opened, everyone looked up where they were laughing and conversing.

"Got the good shit!" Bobby announced, holding up a paper bag.

They all cheered as he walked inside and dumped the muffins out on the bar.

"There we go, boys," he said as they grabbed one for themselves.

Sounds of appreciation echoed through the bar as the bikers all ate the muffins.

"Oh, these muffins are great with tequila, Bobby," Piney said, raising a shot glass in the other man's direction.

"Shit's addictive. Turning me into a fat bastard," Chibs said, slapping Bobby on the back.

Jax walked out, catching a muffin when Tig tossed it to him.

"Turbinado sugar, organic flour, no processed shit. Not that any of you give a damn," Bobby muttered, shaking his head as he sat down at a table.

"You put hash in them?" Jax questioned.

"You know my rule. No bud before nine a.m." Bobby reminded him.

He shrugged, taking a big bite.

"I don't have that rule," Jax said around the muffin, grinning at him.

Clay entered the clubhouse, shaking his head at his brothers.

"Morning, kids," he said, holding up a duffel bag. "Deal with the Niners has officially closed. Spoke to Laroy, and he is giddy about his new assault rifles."

Tig began passing out stacks of money to everyone who had been involved with the deal.

"Well you know how we're all about racial harmony," Chibs said, grinning down at his share.

"Spend it wisely, boys. Might be a while before we see any more gun green," Clay warned.

Juice ran in as they all cheered over the muffins and money, brandishing his cell phone.

"Hey. I just got an update from my city hall snitch," he said when he reached Clay. "Looks like Hale's got a warrant to search our warehouse."

Clay sighed as everyone else quieted down, realizing how bad this could be for them.

* * *

Elena felt the stares on her as she walked into the main building of the high school. She wondered why all of the attention was suddenly on her and received her answer as soon as she reached her locker.

"What the hell?" she muttered, looking at the symbol spray-painted on the metal door with wide eyes.

She looked around to see that half of the students looked terrified and the other half looked interested. Elena's eyes fell on Evan and his lackies to see that they were all grinning proudly. It didn't take much to figure out that they were behind it. She pulled her phone out, taking a picture of the red swastika before turning to hurry out of the building. School was just going to have to be put on the backburner for the day. She walked down the road with purpose in every step, determined to figure out what this meant. It anyone would know, it was the guys in leather cuts. When she arrived at the garage, Elena went straight to the office. Just as she approached, Bobby was stepping out.

"Hey, darlin'," he said, holding up a paper bag. "I saved you one."

She grinned at him, forgetting about her determination for the moment.

"Thanks Bobby," she said, pulling the blueberry muffin out.

Elena took a bite, nodding at him with a murmur of appreciation.

"It's delicious."

He grinned at her before walking off. She stopped a few feet short of the office, hearing that Jax was talking to Gemma.

"I still wanna do that dinner. Maybe tomorrow night," Gemma said.

"Sure," he replied.

Jax walked out, stopping short when he saw her.

"Shouldn't you be at school?"

Elena glowered at him, remembering why she was there. Taking another bite of the muffin, she handed her phone over to Jax. He only glimpsed it for a moment before looking at her with wide eyes.

"Where did you see this?" Jax asked, stepping closer to her.

"My locker," she replied, brushing crumbs off of her lips. "What is it?"

He took a deep breath, looking at her hesitantly.

"All I gotta do is ask around, Jax. I'm sure anyone in Charming could tell me what this is. Unless Hitler is back and tagged my locker with a swastika for some reason, something else is going on."

Jax took her arm in his, steering her away from the office and into the garage.

"It's the symbol of another gang, the Nords. They cook and sell meth. There's a chance that they tagged you as…"

"As what?" Elena questioned, not liking how he trailed off.

He looked at her warily.

"As one of us," Jax said.

Elena stared at him for several moments, a less-than-amused expression on her face.

"That's great," she sighed, shaking her head. "That's just great. A gang of drug dealers has pinpointed me as related to another gang of gun dealers. Let me guess, you're rivals?"

The look on his face told her everything that she needed to know. Elena huffed, turning away to walk off.

"Elena wait!" Jax said, hurrying after her. "I'm not even supposed to be telling you all this."

She whirled around, taking him by surprise at her sudden stop. Jax staggered slightly to keep from running over her.

"Then why are you?" Elena asked, tilting her head to the side.

He hesitated, glancing around the parking lot before looking back at her.

"I trust you and…and it's nice to have someone to talk to about this shit. The guys are all in it, they don't count. You're an outside observer. You have a different view of things."

Elena sighed heavily, turning away for a moment before looking back at him.

"I'm glad you tell me the truth. I hate being lied to," she admitted.

Jax nodded, looking relieved that she was no longer angry.

"Should I be worried about this, Jax?" Elena asked, holding her phone up.

He shook his head, reaching out to take it from her hand. She watched as he deleted the picture, chewing on her bottom lip.

"I'll make sure these assholes don't come anywhere near you, all right?" Jax said, handing her phone back.

Elena nodded in reply, somehow feeling better just at his words. He reached out, tugging on one of her curls.

"Do you want me to take you to school?"

"No, I'd be late anyway. Might as well make a day of it," Elena said, knowing that school would only worsen her mood.

Jax grinned at her.

"We'll make a criminal of you yet," he decided.

She gave him a look before laughing, shoving at his shoulder.

"Nice try, Teller," Elena said, rolling her eyes.

He chuckled before throwing an arm around her shoulders, leading her towards the clubhouse.

"I'm going to see Abel later. You want to come with?" Jax asked.

"Yeah, I'd like that," Elena nodded in reply, knowing that seeing the little fighter would make everything better.

As they walked towards the building, Clay passed them as he talked on the phone, barely giving them a nod of acknowledgement. Elena glanced at him over her shoulder, noticing that he was approaching Tig before she turned back around.

* * *

"Right. That was Unser. Got a protection run tonight," Clay informed his sergeant-at-arms.

Tig remained silent, making the older man certain that something was wrong.

"What?"

"I gotta tell you something, man. I mean, it could be bad," he admitted.

"It already is," Clay reminded him.

Tig sighed before replying.

"Those two dead Mexicans in the warehouse hall…I was hitting 'em."

Clay let out a groan, tilting his head back.

"Jesus Christ. Both of them?" he questioned.

"Oh yeah," Tig nodded in confirmation.

Clay began pacing, trying not to let his anger build.

"Tell me one of them doesn't have a bellyful of Tigger juice."

"Afraid they both do," Tig answered.

Clay's jaw tightened at the news as he stepped closer.

"You did time, shithead. You are in the DNA Database," he growled.

"Yeah, I know," Tig muttered.

Clay began pacing again, wondering if the shit would ever end.

"Forensics team gets a hold of those bodies…"

"I'll go pull 'em out of there," Tig suggested.

He shook his head.

"Hale's gonna be watching that warehouse day and night," Clay reminded him.

"Well, maybe Trammel can sneak me in, you know? He's a county sheriff. He outranks the local PD, right?" Tig wondered.

Clay turned to him with raised eyebrows.

"Oh, you're just gonna stroll out of there with two dead women draped over your shoulders?" he questioned, completely unimpressed with the other man.

"I'll gut them. I'll flush their bellies with bleach. No DNA," Tig shrugged casually.

Clay grimaced at him, shaking his head.

"What kind of nasty shit did your mama do to you?" he demanded.

Tig looked at him with an innocent expression.

"What do you mean?"

* * *

"Dare I say that you are looking good today, Miss Gilbert?" Chibs said, grinning at her from the bar.

Elena shot him a smile, kissing his cheek once she reached him.

"You are too kind, Chibs," she informed him.

"Nah he's right, sweetheart. You are a sight for sore eyes," Piney threw in.

She flushed beneath their compliments, taking a seat on a stool.

"Skipping school?" Juice asked with a smirk.

She shrugged without answering before taking a bottle of water from Half-Sack with a smile.

"Truancy is a crime," Bobby reminded her.

The other men in the room nodded in agreement as Jax grinned at her, a cigarette hanging from between his lips. Elena simply stared around at them with a raised eyebrow.

"Do I not see a wall full of mug shots not ten feet away?" she reminded them, pointing at the pictures in question.

"We're criminals, darlin'," Chibs said, winking at her.

Elena rolled her eyes, reaching out to take a shot of tequila from Piney's hand.

"Then I'm hardly the worst one in the room," she said before tossing the clear liquid down her throat and drinking it without flinching.

Around her, all the men laughed and cheered.

"She's a hell of a woman," Piney said, looking impressed as she slammed the shot glass down on the bar.

"Well Gemma likes her," Jax shrugged, lighting his cigarette before handing one to Elena. "What else do you need to know?"

She grinned at him, leaning forward as he held out his lighter. The light, teasing mood around her disappeared as soon as Clay walked through the door with Tig followed behind, as close to a contrite look on his face as he could get.

"Chapel," the president of SAMCRO growled before walking into the meeting room.

Elena gave Jax a wary look, standing up.

"I guess I should go," she said quietly.

"See you later," he said with a nod, kissing her cheek before walking off.

The rest of the guys did the same, either kissing or hugging her before following Clay. Elena walked out of the clubhouse with a small smile, Half-Sack at her side.

"I'm going to work on a motorcycle, if you want to watch," he offered.

"Sounds good to me," she shrugged, following him towards the garage.

* * *

"What were you thinking, brother?" Chibs demanded as they all sat down.

"I was thinking about getting my dick sucked twice," Tig shrugged.

Everyone glowered his way.

"All anybody can prove is that a couple of women swallowed your chum and died hiding from the fire. You didn't kill anybody," Bobby said simply.

Jax shook his head, leaning forward.

"It's not about the manslaughter rap. If the CSU team tests those bodies, Tig's DNA puts the gun factory at our doorstep," he reminded them all.

"And then ATF takes up permanent residence in our collective rectums," Juice added.

"That warehouse sits on county property. Hale's gonna have to wait days to get San Joaquin to shake loose a forensic unit," Clay said.

A couple of guys nodded in agreement.

"It's a local case. County won't get involved. Hale will just wind up borrowing a crime scene unit from Lodi," Juice said.

Jax considered it for a moment before glancing over at the tech genius.

"Hey, Big Otto's sister still works for the ADA In Lodi. Call her. See if there's a forensic team heading this way."

Juice nodded, pulling his phone out.

"I gotta have a talk with Unser. Maybe I can convince the chief to put a leash on his hyperactive deputy," Clay muttered.

"Unser's just waiting for the clock to run out. That old boy's a lame duck," Jax scoffed as they all stood up to leave.

* * *

When the guys emerged from the clubhouse, Elena was standing at Half-Sack's side listening attentively as he showed her the different parts of a motorcycle and explained to her exactly what he was fixing. She laughed, slapping his hand when he said something teasing.

"What's this I see?" Tig said, looking between them with raised eyebrows.

"You maybe want to dial down the judgment? We know where your dick has been now," Jax reminded him.

The older man fell silent as the others laughed.

"Kip is teaching me about motorcycles," Elena said, leaning into the prospect with a smile.

"Yeah?" Jax said. "Tell me what you've learned."

She frowned slightly, looking over it hesitantly.

"Well it's only a preliminary lesson. I do know that pretty much the whole damn things is the engine," Elena said.

Jax, Chibs, Juice, and Opie laughed again and she narrowed her eyes at them.

"I may not know much now but soon I'll rival all of you with my knowledge. I'm a very good student," she warned, pointing at them.

"I have no doubt that you are," Jax said, putting his arm around her shoulders to tug her away.

"And just where are you taking me?" Elena demanded, digging her heels into the ground.

He turned to face her, a smirk on his face.

"I figured I'd give you a ride to the hospital on the back of my engine," Jax offered.

She thought about it for a moment before nodding in agreement.

"But only because I want to see Abel," Elena informed him.

"Of course," Jax nodded in agreement, holding his hands up in surrender as they headed towards his motorcycle.

* * *

As Clay walked down the street next to Unser, the Chief of Police in Charming, a frown was fixed on his face.

"So your boy…not really a team player. I've made several gestures of friendship. He's declined every one," he said, glancing over at the other man.

"Hale's not interested in friends," Unser sighed, shaking his head. "He thinks Charming's stuck in 1969. Wants to bring it into the twenty-first century."

Clay rolled his eyes.

"Hale is a half-bright clerk with a Wyatt Earp complex. Hardly seems like a guy with a vision."

"Don't underestimate him. He's tight with city council and his old man's got deep political ties with Northern Cali," the cop warned.

"Yeah. But you're the boss, right?" Clay said.

Unser stopped, turning to face him with a tired look on his face.

"Come on, Clay. Since they found the cancer last year, I got one foot out the door. I mean, the squad's his now. It'll be official in a few weeks."

Clay stepped closer, an annoyed look on his face.

"This uptight piece of shit is gonna make our lives miserable. Do you understand what I'm saying?" he said through gritted teeth.

"There's nothing I can do about it. Doctors, my wife, they're making me step down. I'm sorry. It's done," Unser said.

The biker stared at him for a few more moments before nodding.

"Yeah, I'm sorry too," he said, turning to walk away.

"This doesn't mean we can't keep our business arrangement. Me and you, we had a good thing going for a lot of years. We need each other," Unser said, falling into step with him once more.

"Yes, we do," Clay nodded. "What's the run?"

"Got blu-rays and iPods heading down to San Jose. Goddamn Niners have been jacking the shit out of them. Keep your eyes open on this one."

The president of SAMCRO made a noise of agreement.

"I'll make sure they get where they're going."

* * *

Elena knew that it should be strange, how comfortable she felt on the back of a motorcycle now. As Jax cruised through town towards the hospital, she kept her arms wrapped around his torso. It wasn't until they pulled up to a stop light that she noticed the old tan Jeep that pulled up beside him. She looked up at the driver, noticing that he was a police officer.

"How you doing, Jax?" the man asked, looking down at them.

His eyes flickered to Elena with confusion before he looked at Jax.

"Heard about Wendy and the baby. I'm sorry."

"Thanks Hale," Jax nodded in reply.

Elena glanced up at the light, wondering when it would change from red to green. Jax was tense in front of her, his hands clenched down on the handlebars of his bike.

"You know I took a ride out to the streams today. Saw that warehouse that burned down," Hale said, a clear suggestion in his voice.

"Outside your jurisdiction, ain't it?" Jax reminded him, keeping his voice cool.

She remained quiet, glancing between the two men.

"Did you ever hear of a Bluebird Supply Company? Apparently they hold the title on that parcel," the deputy chief continued.

Jax shook his head, pulling away from the intersection when the light turned green.

"Never heard of 'em," he called before speeding ahead.

Hale caught up with them.

"Whole area was littered with casings and gun parts. That warehouse was a weapons depot," he said loudly.

Elena pressed her lips together as Jax chuckled.

"No kidding?"

"Chief Unser's retiring at the end of this month. I'll be stepping into those shoes," Hale informed them. "Unser's always had a look the other way policy with the Sons of Anarchy."

"Unser's a lazy drunk," Jax replied.

The police officer huffed, unamused by him.

"I will not look the other way, Jax. Just a friendly heads-up," Hale warned.

"We're all free men protected by the Constitution. You look any way you want, Chief," Jax said before revving up his bike.

As they sped away, Elena glanced over her shoulder to see Hale turning off onto another street.

"He really doesn't like you guys, does he?" she asked.

"Never has, never will," Jax replied, shaking his head.

He sped up, getting them to the hospital within minutes. Once they walked into the building, they headed straight upstairs to the pediatric wing and, more specifically, the NICU. As they peered in at Abel, who was being checked by a doctor, Elena couldn't help but smile at his small form. She barely heard footsteps before turning her head to see Tara approaching them. She frowned slightly, looking away as Jax acknowledged the doctor.

"He's moving around a lot more," he said.

"Yeah. All his vitals are up," Tara nodded, looking through the window as well.

"Any permanent damage? Cause of the drugs? Brain or anything?"

She shrugged, turning to press her back against the wall.

"Can't know for sure. But everything so far points to full recovery," Tara assured him.

"How long is he gonna be in that thing?" Elena asked, nodding at the incubator.

Tara looked at her with a strange expression before answering.

"Could be weeks. But he'll be in the NICU for at least two or three months," she answered.

"Looks like Wendy's gonna be okay," Tara informed them, sitting down in a chair.

Jax scoffed, shaking his head.

"Define okay."

Elena frowned, wondering what they were talking about.

"We're taking her through sedated detox. She'll be out for a couple days," the doctor said just before someone called her name.

Tara bid them goodbye before hurrying off, leaving them alone.

"What happened to Wendy?" Elena asked with a concerned look.

When she left her a few days before, while Abel was having his surgery, she seemed fine.

"She had someone sneak in a syringe of meth and almost overdosed on it," Jax said, rubbing at his forehead as he sat down.

Elena felt a chill run down her spine as she wondered what could have led her to take such a drastic measure.

"I feel bad for her," she said quietly, looking in at Abel.

Jax looked up at her with surprise.

"You do?" he said.

Elena knew why he must feel that way. After all, Gemma was calling Wendy a junkie whore every chance she got.

"Drugs are dangerous for a reason. They're so addictive that she probably wasn't even in her right mind when she kept shooting up. I think if she had been able to think clearly, Wendy wouldn't have done anything like this to hurt Abel. I don't think anyone can possibly make her feel worse than she does now," Elena shrugged.

Jax stared at her with a strange look.

"You don't think she should be held accountable?" he asked.

"That's not what I said. I know that she has to get help or whatever. I just think that she deserves a little sympathy too."

He nodded in agreement.

"I gotta get back to the clubhouse. You want to hang around here?" Jax asked.

Elena considered it for a moment.

"Yeah, I think I'll hang out with the little guy for a while," she decided.

He smiled at her, standing up.

"See you later," Jax said, kissing her forehead.

Elena watched him go before walking into the incubation room. She sat next to Abel's little box, picking up a book to start reading to him.

* * *

"Well, I talked to Otto's sister…and Lodi forensic team will be here first thing in the morning," Juice informed the rest of the guys as they sat around the table once more.

"And the shit keeps piling on my head," Clay sighed with a shake of his head. "Only one thing is gonna stop that Lodi forensics team from getting to our warehouse and that's another murder in Lodi."

A few of the guys nodded in agreement but Jax frowned, putting his cigarette out before speaking.

"I don't know. Hale's on red alert. Mayans, Nords…everyone's twitchy as hell, man. It's not a good time to kill…"

"It's never a good time," Clay interrupted him. "We're talking about protecting Tig and staying out of ATF's crosshairs. We hit the projects. We find ourselves a scumbag, a dealer."

Tig leaned forward, looking focused.

"We should off a couple of Nords, Clay, is what we should do. All right?" he suggested, anger in his voice. "We should just do that, and then dump the bodies in Lodi. It buys us some time to get those Mexicans out of the hole. It sends a message to Darby. Kill two birds with one Crow."

This time, some of the other guys looked skeptical.

"Very clever. With the cops eyeballing the warehouse?" Chibs questioned.

"Doesn't matter," Tig shrugged.

Clay considered it for a moment before nodding.

"I'll handle that. You set it up," he decided.

Tig started to stand but Jax stopped, determined to make himself heard.

"Hey. What if I could do this without spilling blood?" he questioned.

Around him, everyone shot him wary looks and he shook his head.

"Look, this isn't me tripping some guilt shit because of my kid. This is about one of us thinking straight. Brains before bullets, right?" he said, pointing to a sign on the wall that said those exact words.

Clay glanced around before sighing as he leaned back in his chair.

"Let's hear it," he said, inviting Jax to talk.

"All we need for a murder are bodies and a crime scene," Jax reminded them.

Confusion was prevalent in the room at his words.

"Jackie boy, now you lost me," Chibs said.

"Skeeter. He's always got more gambling debt than he can handle. I'll make it worth his while."

"The cemetery guy?" Bobby said, making a face.

Jax nodded in confirmation as he glanced at Clay.

"Cash for cadavers. I like it," Chibs said approvingly.

"I give Lodi a front-page murder. We don't stir up another shit storm to bite us in the ass," Jax said, leaving it up to the president.

"What about educating Darby?" Tig wondered.

He looked over at the sergeant-at-arms, pressing his lips together for a moment.

"I'll figure that out. The important thing is to keep your DNA out of the petri dish and protect the club," he said simply.

Clay glanced between Tig and Jax as he considered it carefully.

"Path of least resistance always best, right?" he finally said, nodding at Jax. "We'll do it your way, VP."

"All right," Jax said, looking triumphant.

Clay banged the gavel and they all stood, making their way to the door. Before Jax could leave, the older man stopped him with a hand on his chest.

"Don't make me regret this," Clay warned him.

* * *

Once Gemma arrived at the hospital, Elena stuck around with her in Abel's room for about another hour before they decided to leave.

"Jax said you had some trouble at school," Gemma said with a frown as they walked down the hallway.

"Yeah, just some graffiti on my locker," Elena nodded.

Before either of them could say another word, Tara stepped out from the nurse's station.

"Gemma," she said, her eyes slightly narrowed.

There was a clear accusing look on her face but Gemma pretended not to notice.

"Abel seems better. Stronger," the older woman said with a smile.

"Yeah. He is a lucky kid," Tara nodded. "Both he and his mom escaped death on the same night."

Gemma clicked her tongue, shaking her head.

"Yeah. I heard about Wendy, very sad. I can't say I'm surprised," she shrugged before making her way past Tara.

"Guess you wouldn't be," the doctor muttered.

Gemma turned around, her eyebrow raised.

"Something on your mind?"

"No. Something weighing on yours?" Tara asked.

Elena suddenly realized what she was trying to insinuate, looking between the two women with wide eyes.

"Junkie tell you something?" Gemma demanded.

"No. She's still sedated. But I talked to her after that baby was born. She was crushed. She hated herself, but she wanted to live," Tara said confidently, stepping closer to them. "No, somebody else popped her with that needle. Or, at the very least, gave her the loaded gun."

As Gemma scoffed, the doctor walked past them to the elevator. Elena followed Gemma as she made her way to stand by Tara.

"Guess you think I'm that somebody? Guess I was the one shooting it into her fingers and toes the whole goddamn time she was pregnant too?"

"No. That sin is on her," Tara replied, shaking her head. "If I were a cop, I'd call that motive."

Gemma smirked over at her.

"Well, thank God you're only a doctor."

"We'll see what Wendy says when she comes out of detox. Or maybe I'll bounce my theory off of Jax. See where he lands on it," Tara suggested, turning to look at her.

The other woman scoffed once more, rolling her eyes. Elena remained silent, wondering if it had always been like this between Jax's mother and his ex-girlfriend.

"That's how you're gonna win back his heart? Accusing his mother of trying to murder his ex-wife? Come on. You are smarter than that."

"I am not trying to win back anybody," Tara said through gritted teeth.

Gemma gave her a look that said she wasn't buying it.

"No? Then why did you come back to Charming?" she asked.

"Because of the job," Tara replied.

"Which one? Doctor or detective?" Gemma said.

The doctor looked frustrated, turning to face the older woman fully.

"You still think that you can just say or do anything you want in this town, don't you? Everything comes around, Gemma. No one is untouchable," she said warningly before turning to face the elevator once more.

Gemma let out a small laugh, leaning into her ear.

"You want to touch me, sweetheart?" Elena heard her whisper tauntingly. "Would that make you happy?"

As the elevator doors opened, Tara walked in, turning around to look at Gemma with an unimpressed look on her face. Neither of them stepped in with her, choosing to wait until it came back up.

"Is she right? Did you give Wendy the needle?" Elena asked, stepping up beside Gemma.

The other female looked over at her.

"Tell me that you wouldn't do anything for your family," Gemma challenged.

Elena remained quiet, suddenly realizing that it wasn't just the club that could be dangerous. After all, Gemma was a mother and now a grandmother. Nothing was more dangerous than a woman when her family was threatened. Elena knew that fact quite well from her own experience.

* * *

That night, Clay made the protection run for Chief Unser along with Bobby, Juice, Tig, and Opie. Only it wasn't exactly a protection run. The president of Sam Crow had something else in mind. By the time they had the truck pulled over in a field and the driver tied up in the back, the others quickly figured it out.

"Circuit City, kiss my guinea ass," one of his contacts, Jimmy Cacuzza, said with approval. "I can move this whole load for you in two days."

Clay glanced between the man and the electronics piled in the trailer.

"Good."

"Fifty-fifty?" Jimmy offered.

He shook his head, waving him off.

"Just throw me ten percent. It's my little gift to you," Clay said, turning to face him before speaking again in a low voice. "We had a little setback with the business."

"Yeah. We heard rumors. Mayans, right?" Jimmy asked in an equally quiet voice.

Clay nodded in confirmation.

"It might be a minute before we're up and running. I'd appreciate it if you and some of the other crews would be a little patient, give us some time to get on our feet before you found another distributor," he said convincingly.

Jimmy thought about it for a moment before making his decision.

"We might need to go elsewhere in the short term. But I'll let the boys know. They don't do any big gun business with anyone except the Sons, hmm?" he said, reaching out to shake hands.

"Thanks, Jimmy," Clay said, returning the gesture before walking away.

As he approached their bikes, Opie stepped up with a frown on his face.

"You knew all this was going down?" he demanded.

Clay looked over at him with raised eyebrows.

"Well, I had it in the works, but I wasn't sure till I got the call," he shrugged.

"Well, what about your deal with Unser? We're supposed to protect the cargo," Opie said, looking concerned.

Clay only smiled, relishing in the best part of this deal.

"Chief Unser needed a wake-up call. We needed a goodwill gesture. It'll all work out," he said confidently.

The younger man still looked uncertain.

"You wanted in, right?" Clay reminded him.

Opie hesitated for a moment before nodding in reply.

"Yeah, I did."

* * *

Elena was never so grateful for the weekend as when she woke up the next morning feeling mostly refreshed. She knew that it would be a long day, what with Gemma's planning surrounding the dinner that night. Once she showered, Elena dressed in comfortable and casual clothes. When she walked into the kitchen, Gemma was laying out a full breakfast of eggs, bacon, sausage, and pancakes.

"Do you ever get tired of taking care of people?" Elena asked, taking a bite of bacon as she leaned against a counter.

Gemma glanced over her shoulder, a small smile on her face.

"Do you?" she replied.

Her words caused Elena to pause for a moment, thinking on them. If she was honest with herself, the answer was no. Elena loved to care for people so she could understand Gemma's urge to do the same.

"My mom was the same way. She loved to take care of everyone. I'm pretty sure she threw so many dinner parties that our house almost always had an open invitation," Elena said, remembering Miranda Gilbert with a mixture of happiness and sadness mingling in her chest.

"We take care of our own," Gemma said, nodding as she set out a container of syrup for the pancakes.

She sighed, carrying the food to the table to make it easily accessible.

"So I've heard. The club takes care of the club," Elena said, almost tired of hearing about it.

"Well, yeah, that's true," Gemma nodded, pulling a pitcher of freshly squeezed orange juice out of the fridge. "But I meant women. Mothers and sisters and daughters. We take care of the people that we love. It's a natural inclination."

Elena considered her words, wondering if she was right.

"Anyway, you go ahead and eat up. We'll go to the grocery store and then we have a busy day of cooking ahead of us."

She looked over at the older woman with raised eyebrows.

"You didn't ask me if I wanted to help, you know that right?" she reminded her.

Gemma simply grinned in response

"I guess I assumed," she shrugged. "Was I wrong?"

Elena would have liked to say yes, that she was wrong. But she knew that she wouldn't. Anything to keep herself busy so that she didn't think about the fact that she could very well be surrounded by danger once more.

"Oh and before I forget, Clay wants you at the clubhouse today too. He wants to know what happened with your locker," Gemma informed her.

She barely held back a sigh, burying her face in her hands. Of course she couldn't be allowed to forget about her tendency to get in dangerous situations without really trying. It was just part of her life.

* * *

It didn't take long for Unser to find Clay once he got news of what happened with the truck and its cargo.

"What the hell happened out there? O'Brien Electronics is my biggest account," the chief of police hisses as they met on Main Street.

The president of Sam Crow simply replied with a shrug and a smile.

"That's probably the last time they'll use Unser Trucking to transport their precious cargo."

Unser narrowed his eyes, barely containing his fury.

"What are you doing, Clay?" he demanded.

"Just keeping a good cop on the job is all," Clay replied, stepping closer. "You don't step down for another six months. You let us rebuild. And keep Hale off my goddamn back."

The other man considered it for a moment.

"If I say no?"

"Then I'll make sure every truck leaves this yard hits a roadblock," Clay said simply.

Unser huffed before resuming his pacing.

"Where's my driver?"

"Oh, he's getting patched up. We convinced him to keep this incident in-house," he assured the policeman.

Unser shook his head with a look of disbelief.

"Jesus Christ. This is how you treat an old friend?"

"No," Clay said, shaking his head. "This is how I treat an old cop."

* * *

Elena glanced around as she walked into the clubhouse, catching sight of Chibs at the bar with Half-Sack and Tig challenging Juice to a game of darts.

"Hey sweetheart," Chibs said, grinning at her.

She leaned in, kissing both his and Half-Sack's cheeks.

"Jax here?" Elena asked.

"He might be in his room," Half-Sack replied.

She nodded her thanks at them before heading down the hall. Once Elena pushed the door open, she stepped in and looked around.

"Jax?"

There was no answer. With a sigh, she crossed to the bed to set the bag down. She noticed a box as well as several pictures that were scattered across the bed. Before she could take a good look at any of them, the door opened wider behind her. Jax stepped in with a cigarette in one hand and a worn binder in the other.

"Oh, hey," she said with a smile.

Jax grinned at her, stepping forward to kiss her cheek.

"They're having a sale on toiletries so your mom and I picked you up some things," Elena said, holding up the bag before laying it on the ground.

"Thanks," he said, collapsing back on his bed.

"You okay?" she asked, sitting down at the end of the bed. "You look exhausted."

"Long night," Jax sighed.

Elena glanced around at the stuff that was on his bed curiously.

"Is this your dad's stuff you found in storage?"

"Yeah. Some pictures, a few Harley manuals. Bunch of Vietnam shit," he answered, watching as she perused the pictures.

Elena smiled at some of him with his dad as well as some of the old members of the club.

"Oh, wow, eighties hair. Your mom was hot," she said, picking up a picture of Gemma and John.

He let out a laugh, nodding in agreement.

"Smokin' hot."

Elena noticed a picture of two little boys, picking it up with a slight frown.

"Is this a childhood friend of yours?" she asked.

Jax's smile fell slightly and he shook his head.

"My brother. He died when we were young," he answered sadly.

Elena gave him a sympathetic look.

"I have a little brother," she said, changing the subject.

Jax looked at her with surprise.

"Yeah?" he said.

She nodded in confirmation.

"His name is Jeremy. He was a surprise. My parents thought that they couldn't have kids until he came along."

Jax frowned in confusion at her words and Elena quickly realized why.

"I'm adopted," she said quietly, laying the picture in her hand down.

His eyebrows rose as he processed the information.

"Did you know your biological parents?" Jax asked.

Elena hesitated, unsure of whether or not to give him so much personal information. Eventually, she tossed all caution to the wind.

"I knew my mom but not my dad. Isobel didn't tell me who he was before she died."

Jax stared at her for a few moments.

"Hmm," he said, glancing away.

"What?" Elena asked, looking at him curiously.

He shrugged, putting his cigarette out in a nearby ashtray.

"My brother and I had a babysitter with that name when we were really young. She was nice, I remember that much," Jax said with a small smile.

Elena sighed with relief, grateful that he didn't ask any more questions. Before either of them could speak again, Chibs shouted down the hall.

"Clay wants you kids!"

Jax nodded, standing up with a sigh.

"Come on," he said, tilting his head towards her.

Elena stood up as well, following him out of the room. When they walked out of the clubhouse, Clay was waiting on them.

"Tell me what happened with this locker shit," he said gruffly.

Elena explained it to him, walking across the parking lot between the two men.

Jax looked at Clay, who took a deep breath and shook his head.

"They've tagged her," he said.

Elena didn't get a chance to ask any questions. A car pulled up behind them and they all glanced back to see the deputy chief getting out. Clay and Jax both continued walking as if he hadn't noticed him and Elena followed their lead.

"Unser's not retiring," Hale informed them. "What did you do? Threaten to rape his daughter?"

They all stopped at this point, turning around with wide eyes.

"That's a little harsh," Clay said, looking Hale up and down with a triumphant expression. "Maybe the old man's not ready for the gold watch."

The deputy chief stepped closer, putting his hands on his hips.

"Just got back from that Bluebird warehouse. There were two dead women in the utility hatch before my guys got pulled off. They're gone."

Elena kept her face neutral as she wondered what he was talking about.

"They could've been napping," Jax suggested.

Hale scoffed, shaking his head.

"You guys. Cruising around here like heroes. But you and I know the truth," he said, anger clear in his voice.

"What truth is that?" Jax questioned.

The police officer sneered at the two men.

"You're white trash thugs holding onto a dying dream."

"Oh, that is so poetic, Chief," Clay sighed before looking at him with wide eyes. "Oh! I'm sorry. I guess it's just Deputy Chief. Right?"

Hale glared back at him.

"It doesn't matter if I'm chief or not. You can't stop progress. It won't be long before Sam Crow... is just an ugly memory in the history of Charming. So you enjoy the ride while you still can," he said, his eyes flickering past them to Elena.

She stared back at him, refusing to shy away from his piercing eyes.

"And you should be careful, getting mixed up with all this shit," Hale warned her.

Jax and Clay both stepped in front of her, shielding her from the deputy chief.

"Don't talk to her," Jax said, a hint of anger in his own voice.

Elena was torn between feeling flattered at their protectiveness and wondering what happened to the two dead bodies that Hale was talking about. She knew better than to ask right now, walking away with Jax and Clay.

* * *

She could hear the people that were gathered at Clay and Gemma's house but she couldn't bring herself to leave her room. She sat on her bed, leaning against the headboard as she placed with a lock of her hair absentmindedly. It wasn't until a knock came on her door that she broke from her stupor and called for whoever it was to enter. It shouldn't have surprised her when Jax walked in.

"You haven't joined up yet," he said, tilting his head towards the door as he sat on the edge of her bed.

She simply gave him a look.

"Guns were one thing, Jax. I can maybe handle that. But dead bodies?" Elena said, shaking her head.

"Their deaths were an accident but we couldn't let any forensic teams get a hold of the bodies. It would have implicated us in the gun warehouse. and we'd have been tagged by ATF," Jax explained.

She gave him a slightly confused look.

"ATF?"

"Feds," he replied.

Her already present wariness only increased at his words. She couldn't help but hear the derisive tone in Jax's voice when he talked about these ATF people.

"You know, in the normal parts of the world, the feds are supposed to be the good guys," she said, realizing that her frustration was boiling over and causing a noticeable edge in her voice.

Jax raised an eyebrow at her.

"C'mon, you can't think that they're perfect people who always put the bad guys away? Shit, even on its worse day, Charming and Sam Crow isn't half as corrupt as some of those agencies," he said with a shake of his head. "ATF is responsible for putting a lot of our guys in jail, including me for my share of years."

"Were you breaking the law?" Elena replied.

He didn't answer but that was enough for her.

"Why do you do it?" she asked, not understanding at all. "I mean, does it make you that much money? Does it bring you satisfaction to deal with dead bodies and sell guns to gangs knowing that they'll only create more dead bodies?"

Jax gave her a slightly annoyed look and she knew that she was getting to him.

"I grew up in this. We take care of each other. It's not about satisfaction or happiness, though I get plenty of that from taking care of business. It's about doing what has to be done. This club is the only family that I've got and I will never give up on that," he said forcefully.

Elena huffed out a sigh, standing up.

"Well that's great for you but I don't know…I just don't think I can belong in a place like this," she said, pacing back and forth as she loosely braided half of her curled hair before pulling the rest into a ponytail.

"How do you know that?" Jax replied.

She looked at him with surprise, recognizing the challenge in his voice.

"This isn't my life. I didn't grow up in this and this club certainly is not my family. So maybe it's just better for me to leave before I get even more tangled up in whatever the hell is going on in this town," Elena suggested.

She wasn't even sure that she meant the words but Elena certainly felt like she'd been dropped in the middle of a warzone without warning. It was a lot to take in, especially with her worrying about the family and friends that she left behind, as well as the ever-present threat of Klaus hanging over her head.

"You know what I think?" Jax said.

Elena wanted to tell him a place that he could shove his thoughts but she held it back, looking at him impatiently.

"I think that you got a taste of how well you fit in with us and that scares you."

Before she could tell him every way that he was wrong, and there were plenty of them. Or she was certain that there had to be. Even though no real reasons behind his wrongness were springing to mind didn't mean that none existed. She was just drawing a blank at the moment.

"There could be a second option to leaving, you know," Jax informed her.

"Yeah? What?" Elena demanded.

He stood up, crossing over to the door.

"Take this night. Hang out with us. See what it's like to be around the family. You might just find that you fit in better than you expect," he suggested.

She scoffed, wanting so badly to tell him to shove it, that she would rather stay in her room the entire night. But Elena didn't, her anger fading to be replaced by a sense that she owed it to them. It was something that she did quite often, giving people a chance when they may or may not have deserved it. Damon was certainly proof of that, as well as Elijah. She didn't want to spend the rest of her life wondering whether Jax was right.

"One night," she said conditionally, holding up a finger.

"That's all I ask for," he replied, looking triumphant.

Elena shook her head.

"Go away. I need to change," she said, shoving him towards the door.

Jax simply grinned at her, walking out with his swagger in full force. Elena quickly changed into a dress, putting on jewelry and fixing her make up before walking out. As soon as she stepped out into the living room, a cheer came up from the bikers in the room. Elena felt herself on the receiving end of several hugs as she was introduced to the people that she didn't know.

"Come on baby," Gemma said, hooking their elbows before pulling her into the kitchen.

Elena was quickly set to work, helping the other women with the cooking. A few of them were crow-eaters and she was surprised to find that they weren't as bad as she thought that they would be. When Clay came in to check on the progress of dinner, he surprised Elena by kissing her cheek after greeting his wife.

"How are you liking it?" he asked, gesturing around at the gathered people.

"It's nice," she said with a nod, hoping that it would be enough.

Elena hadn't quite gotten the chance to gather her thoughts about it. That would take a lot longer than the few minutes that she'd been mingling around. As soon as dinner was announced, she watched from the doorway as the large dining room table quickly filled up.

"This is it."

Her head turned as she saw Gemma coming up behind her.

"What?" Elena said.

She nodded at the table, drawing her attention back to it.

"The club isn't about guns or breaking laws or telling the feds to fuck off. It's about this," she said, watching along with her as the people sitting down all talked, ate, and laughed together.

"Jax talked to you," she sighed.

"He may have said a few words about your conversation," the other woman shrugged.

She shook her head, shooting Jax a glower that he didn't see amidst his laughter at something that Bobby said.

"I already have a family and friends," Elena reminded Gemma.

She looked over at her.

"Yeah? I don't see them anywhere around here," she said simply.

"It's more complicated than that," Elena sighed.

Gemma put a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it lightly.

"Real family fights for you. Trust me when I say that, when it comes down to it, no one'll fight harder than Sam Crow."

Elena watched her walk to the table, taking her place at Clay's left. It didn't fail to catch her notice that the only seat open was on Jax's right between him and Chibs. She supposed that there were worse places to be. Once she approached the table, sitting down with a sigh, Elena was swept into the conversation. As she talked with Chibs and Juice, Jax's words echoed in her mind.

_I think that you got a taste of how well you fit in with us and that scares you._

She reached out, picking up her wine glass before taking a long drink. His words hit way too close to home. It did scare her a little, how well she fit in with this violent motorcycle gang and the family that was built up around it. But what scared her even more was how much it didn't really bother her all that much. Despite everything that she said to Jax, none of it really mattered at the end of the day. Elena didn't see the crimes or criminals. She saw the people and that was enough to make her forget about guns and dead bodies and government agencies. There was something about this club that drew her in and until she figured out what it was, she wasn't going anywhere.

* * *

**I would love to hear what you think!**


	5. As Long as We're Going Down

**Disclaimer: I do not own TVD or SoA.**

**Thank you so much to beverlie4055, Dark Alana, southerencuttie23, JMHUW, cdsnow, vdwdtw0809, BadW0lfGirl, TheMotionlessMermaid, Dean Winchester Rocks, fings, DemonTrapsAndVervain, Linmarieca, and JaxElenafan for reviewing! I appreciate all of your comments!**

**Chapter Title: Dark Doo Wop – MS MR**

**A few things:**

**1. I am going to ask that, unless it's absolutely important, my readers leave only one review per chapter. If you need to say anything else, please PM me.**

**2. As always, Elena's outfits are on my profile.**

**3. I hope you like it!**

* * *

Elena tapped her foot against the desk quietly, chewing on the end of her pen as she impatiently waited for class to end. Most of the students around her were busy trying figure out the assignment that they were given while she'd already finished it fifteen minutes earlier. When the bell finally rang, she let out a sigh of relief and hurried to gather her belongings, dropping the paper off at the front of the room before heading out into the hallway. Despite her efforts to hurry, the bane of her existence still fell into step with her.

"Are you going to Funtown?" Evan asked.

She rolled her eyes, tempted beyond belief to pretend as though she didn't hear him. To stop her from doing so, he hurried ahead, stepping in front of her to stop her in the middle of the hallway. Elena glowered at him, felled in her attempts to step around.

"You should meet me in Macon Woods. We can have a really good time," he said suggestively, stepping closer to her.

She shoved him away, walking past without another word. Half-Sack was waiting for her, giving her a ride to the garage. Elena walked straight into the clubhouse, almost relieved to see that it was empty as she settled at a table and pulled out her homework. She had a few minutes alone before Juice entered the bar, glancing over at her.

"It's the weekend, you know. You don't have to do that all right away," he reminded her.

Elena looked up at him with a slight frown.

"I have a lot of it to do," she said with a sigh. "Unless you want to do my calculus homework for me."

His eyes widened and he shook his head quickly.

"I've paid my dues. You're on your own," he said, opening his laptop with a grin in her direction.

Elena's shoulders slumped and she went back to focusing on the numbers that were blurring before her eyes.

"What's Funtown?" she asked, remembering what Evan said to her.

"The state fair that it comes through town," a different voice answered as he walked in.

She glanced over her shoulder at Jax, biting down on her lower lip.

"It's a big deal?" Elena questioned.

He nodded, dropping into a seat at the table with her.

"Pretty much all of Charming turns out for it," Jax replied, staring at her with a look that she couldn't quite decipher.

"Even the town's resident outlaw club?" Elena said, raising her eyebrow at him.

He smirked, nodding in confirmation.

"We wouldn't miss it. Gemma's already planning for us all to go tonight. I think that includes you," Jax informed her.

Elena immediately started shaking her head.

"I went along with that dinner of yours last week. I have something called homework and school to keep up with if I want to graduate this May."

"Aw come on," Bobby said, coming into the club as well with Tig and Chibs behind him. "You can take a few hours."

She turned to glower at him over her shoulder.

"I really can't," Elena refused.

Jax leaned in closer to her, his blue eyes slightly pleading. She tried not to fall victim to the look, determined to outlast them all.

"I'll buy you a funnel cake," he offered.

Elena hesitated, knowing that they all awaited her response to Jax's bribery.

"I want two funnel cakes," she said conditionally.

The men around her all laughed as grinned at her, his eyes sparkling.

"Where you put all this food you eat, I'll never understand," Chibs said, kissing the top of her head as he passed.

She simply huffed, attempting to refocus on her homework amidst their conversations. Eventually she gave up, smacking Jax's arm with her calculus book.

"What was that for?" he demanded.

"Distracting me," she replied, brushing past him.

The other guys all laughed at Jax's bemused look as she walked behind the bar for a bottle of water.

* * *

Elena couldn't help but laugh at the immature antics of the bikers as they wandered the fairgrounds. Despite her earlier refusals, it felt good to let go for a night and just have fun. She knew that the others felt the same, especially after the drama surrounding Wendy and Abel as well as their problems with the gun warehouse and the local law enforcement.

"Heads up," Bobby muttered as they approached the arcade.

She watched as a couple walked up with their adolescent daughter, the man holding his hand out to Clay.

"Hey, Clay."

"How you doin', Elliot?" Clay replied, shaking his hand.

"Okay, Clay," Elliot nodded in reply.

Elena aimed a questioning look at Jax.

"Elliot and Karen Oswald. He owns half of Charming," he explained quietly.

"I'm gonna go to the Spinout," their daughter said quietly.

"Tristen, you've been on it four times already," Karen said, giving her a raised eyebrow.

"I know," the girl shrugged.

Jax stepped forward, reaching in his pocket.

"Hey. Here," he said, handing a few tickets over to the young girl.

"That's not necessary," Karen said, shaking her head.

Jax waved her off as Elena smiled slightly.

"That's all right. They kicked me off cause I was screaming too loud," he said, winking at Tristen.

She smiled in return, her cheeks flushing slightly.

"What do you say?" Elliot prompted his daughter.

"Thanks," she said before hurrying off.

Before another word could be said, Karen tugged at her husband's arm.

"We gotta go," she muttered, eyeing them all warily. "Bye."

As they walked off, Elena didn't notice Jax, Bobby, and Tig walking off.

"Come on," Jax said, tugging on her hand.

She waved goodbye to Gemma and Clay with a small smile, huffing when she saw Jax running towards the other two.

"I don't want to run!" Elena complained.

"That's cause you ate too many funnel cakes," Jax reminded her.

He walked back to her, laughter in his expression.

"Here," he said, turning around and gesturing for her to climb on his back.

She shook her head with a smile.

"I'm not riding you," Elena refused.

He glanced over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow and a smirk, causing her to hit his shoulder.

"You know what I mean, asshole."

"Come on," Jax urged.

She sighed and stepped forward, putting her hands on his shoulders tentatively. Elena jumped up and his hands caught her legs easily, wrapping them around his hips. She slowly slid her arms around his neck, letting them hang loosely.

"Good?" Jax asked.

"I guess," she sighed, flushing slightly at their proximity even though they always got this close on his motorcycle.

As he started walking, she saw amusement on his face.

"What?" Elena said, knowing that he was likely thinking some perverted thought that she didn't want to know about.

Jax shrugged as best he could.

"You just feel good…you know, riding me," he informed her with laughter in his voice.

Elena pinched at his side, making him stagger slightly as they reached Tig and Bobby who were watching in amusement.

"Don't get used to it," she muttered.

Jax didn't let her down, holding her legs up as he walked through the fair. When they passed by two large, bald white men, Elena noticed that Jax, Bobby, and Tig all tensed up.

"Darby's guys?" Tig wondered, making Elena tense as well.

She glanced over her shoulder at them as Jax shook his head.

"I don't recognize 'em."

The men were soon forgotten as they reached the dunking station where a clown sat atop the platform.

"Ooh, look at the big, bad bikers, huh? Gonna get Clowny all wet, huh?" the man said, grinning madly at them.

Jax let Elena down, paying the attendant with his tickets before picking up one of the balls.

"Come on, Jax," Elena encouraged, clapping her hands.

"Come on," Bobby nodded, winking over at her.

He threw the first ball and missed, causing Tig to groan and the clown to laugh.

"What's the matter, tough guy? Can't put the little ball in the tight hole?" he taunted. "Bet all your leather-wearin' butt buddies say the same."

At once, Jax's eyes widened and Bobby let out a choking laugh as they advanced on the clown.

"Oh, no. That's a Bozo no-no," Tig said, shaking his head.

The clown suddenly grew afraid, holding his hands up in surrender.

"Oh, Jesus, you guys. I was just screwin' around, man. Come on!"

It was too late. Bobby punched the button that sent him underwater and Jax and Tig climbed up, dunking him under again as soon as he surfaced. Elena watched with a hand over her mouth, shaking her head at their actions.

"You're ridiculous," she informed them as they walked away.

Jax simply laughed, throwing an arm around her shoulders. Elena leaned in unconsciously, putting her arm around his waist to steady herself. Before either Tig or Bobby could comment on how close they were, Juice came running up.

"Hey, the Irish are coming," he informed them.

"Let's go," Tig said.

Jax turned to her with a sigh, handing off the rest of his tickets.

"Go find Gemma. We're headed to the garage," he explained.

"Who are the Irish?" Elena asked quietly.

He gave her a look that said he would tell her later and she nodded, realizing that it had something to do with the less legal side of the club.

"See you later," she said, waving goodbye to the rest before turning to hurry off.

As she passed the arcade, a shiver went down her spine when she saw Evan and his friends leering at her from the entrance. Elena quickened her footsteps, looking around for Gemma.

* * *

After checking out the stock that came in oil barrels, the members of the club went into the bar with Michael McKeevy, their Irish gun contact, to drink and talk.

"Niners torched the warehouse where we store and assemble our weapons," Clay explained as Half-Sack passed out beers.

"Holy shite. What does that do to business?" Michael questioned.

Clay waved off his concern.

"We just bought nine acres on the edge of Amador County. We start rebuilding, we'll be up and runnin' in two, three months," he assured the other man.

The Irishman didn't look too happy, frowning slightly.

"Can't you assemble 'em here?"

Every man in the room shook his head.

"We learned our lesson the hard way. We don't cross our money streams," Clay explained, gesturing over his shoulder at the wall of mug shots. "This is strictly a legit automotive business."

"So that means you go three months without buyin' the weapons from us? Sam Crow's a huge piece of our income," Michael said, his frown deepening.

"Gotta make the adjustment, right? I mean, it's part of business," the president of SAMCRO said with a shrug.

Michael shook his head insistently.

"This isn't a business for us, brother. True IRA? We're not merchants. We're soldiers. The guns we sell fuel the cause. Without it, we lose ground."

Chibs leaned forward, his own scowl deepening the scars on his cheeks.

"We support the cause, McKeevy. Shit like this just happens. We'll have our guns up and runnin' in no time," he said.

"That's the problem. No time. Three weeks would cripple us. Three months, we can't wait for that," Michael refused.

Clay looked even less happy than the Irishman.

"What the hell are you sayin'?" he demanded.

"I'm sayin' if you can't front us the cash in the downtime, we're gonna have to find a new buyer," Michael said simply.

Clay glanced around at Jax and Tig before looking back at the other man.

"I've been buying guns from you for over a decade, Michael. When you split from Adams, I stayed with you 'cause of our friendship," he reminded him.

"You stayed with me 'cause the other cowards sold out. We're the only outlaws left," Michael shot back. "Now don't take this personal, Clay. Your warehouse burnin' down is a casualty of commerce. You lose our guns, that's a casualty of war."

* * *

The sun had just set beneath the horizon when Elena and Gemma heard a familiar voice screaming over the music and buzz of the crowd at Funtown. They exchanged a glance before hurrying forward to find the source of the panicked cries. Sure enough, Karen Oswald was walking around with wide eyes, tears falling down her cheeks.

"Tristen! Tristen!" she shouted, her voice catching as she looked around wildly.

"What's goin' on?" Gemma questioned as they approached.

Karen looked between them for a moment before answering.

"We can't find Tristen," she whimpered, looking terrified.

"Oh, Jesus," Gemma sighed, looking around as well. "Well, she must be here somewhere."

Karen shook her head insistently.

"No, we've looked everywhere."

Elliot ran up, an equally panicked look on his face.

"She's not on any of the rides," he said, shaking his head.

"Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Tristen!" Karen shouted, looking around once more.

"Go look around. Call if you find anything," Gemma urged her.

Elena nodded, pulling out her phone to hold as she hurried off. It probably wasn't a good idea, running off by herself when one teenage girl was already missing. Just as the words entered her mind, she looked at the lining of trees with uncertainty, biting down on her lip hesitantly. It sounded insane, but she knew for sure that Tristen was in the woods. She approached the trees carefully. Just as she walked into the woods, she spotted a silver ballet flat that was about Tristen's size. A horrible feeling struck her as she began hurrying through the trees, the flashlight on her phone serving as the only source of light. The sound of Funtown faded as she went deeper into the woods.

"Tristen?" she called, hoping that she was wrong.

A small whimper came from her right and Elena whirled around, her heart dropping when she saw the young girl lying among leaves and branches at the base of a tree. She hurried forward, falling to her knees at Tristen's side. The younger female looked horrible, a cut on her face with a bruise already blossoming on her eye and cheek. Her hands were cut up, likely from fighting whoever dragged her out there. But the worst thing was below her waist. Her jeans were ripped and pulled down to her ankles and her underwear were missing entirely. Elena could see the blood smeared on her thighs and knew immediately what happened. Tristen let out another small cry as she tried to move.

"Shh," Elena soothed her, stroking her hair away from her face. "It's all right, I'm here."

Tristen opened her eyes, looking up at her with terror and pain.

"Hurts," she whispered.

"I know," she said, her heart breaking for this young girl. "Come on, I'm going to pull your pants up and then I'll call the police."

Tristen hardly moved as Elena pulled the tattered jeans up her legs carefully to cover her. Her hands were trembling as she dialed the police and told them her location. Next she sent a text to Gemma saying where she was before dropping her phone to the ground.

"I know you," Tristen said in a hoarse voice, tears pouring down her cheeks.

Elena didn't know what to say, simply stroking her cheek gently. The younger girl shook violently, reaching out to clutch at her hand.

"He hurt me," she cried.

Elena felt tears stinging her own eyes as she carefully gathered Tristen in her lap.

"I know, sweetheart," she said, holding her head to her chest.

She rocked her back and forth as she heard the sound of people approaching. Tristen trembled even more, clearly afraid of whomever was coming.

"Tristen!" Karen shouted.

Both of the Oswalds ran towards them with Gemma and a few policemen following them. Elena relinquished Tristen to Karen's arms and watched as mother comforted daughter. Elliot looked torn between shock and fury at the sight of his daughter so broken. Elena stood on shaking legs, helped up by Gemma, and Elliot seemed to finally notice her. He reached over, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you," he choked out before falling on his knees next to his wife and daughter.

Gemma led her away, her arm around her shoulders, so that Elena could talk to the police about what she'd found.

* * *

Elena sat on one end of the couch, sipping on a cup of water with her legs curled up beneath her. She was watching the television, though the sound was muted. A reporter was on scene at Funtown with the news of the thirteen-year-old girl's rape running across the bottom of the screen. They weren't giving out her name, which satisfied Elena ever so slightly. Though she still couldn't get the sick feeling out of the pit of her stomach every time Tristen's beaten and bloody body appeared in her mind. Gemma was talking with Jax and Clay in the kitchen in a low voice about what happened and how Elena found the young girl in the woods.

The younger biker walked into the living room after a few minutes, sitting down beside her with a sigh. Elena could see Gemma and Clay hovering in the doorway out of the corner of her eye but she didn't look at any of them. Her eyes were fixed on the television screen, though she was hardly seeing it.

"You don't need to watch this," Jax said quietly, switching it off.

Tears stung at her eyes once more and she squeezed them shut. One drop slid down her cheek as she took a shaking breath.

"Who does that?" she whispered, finally looking over at Jax. "Who rapes a girl like that? Leaves her bleeding and…"

Elena cut off, turning her head away sharply. She thought she'd seen everything. After all, there were no shortages of injustices in her life. But this managed to pull her out of that line of thinking. No one would ever be able to make this go away for Tristen. That young girl would carry these memories for the rest of her life.

"When I found her…" she cut off, swallowing hard. "That sick bastard just left her exposed in the dirt. She was terrified and in pain. She didn't understand why…why anyone would do that. I don't even understand, so how can she?"

Jax shushed her, reaching over to brush a loose lock of hair behind her ear.

"Come on," he said quietly.

Elena didn't fight against him when he tugged her up to stand. They passed by Clay and Gemma without a word on their way to her bedroom. She sat down on the edge of the bed without complaint.

"You should get some sleep," Jax suggested.

She shook her head, biting down on her lower lip.

"I don't think I can," she admitted.

"Try," he encouraged.

Elena huffed but slid beneath her covers nonetheless.

"I don't want to close my eyes," she said quietly.

"Hey, you know we won't let anything happen to you," Jax assured her.

She shook her head, turning over to lie on her side. He sat next to her, his legs stretched out on the bed and his back against the headboard.

"That's not it. I just think that if I do, I'll finally realize something."

"What's that?" he asked.

Elena hesitated before answering.

"That I could have prevented it," she said quietly.

He scoffed, shaking his head insistently.

"You couldn't have done anything. You didn't know," Jax said, a determined sound to his voice.

She didn't say anything, reaching out to play with a frayed piece of his jeans.

"I'll stay till you sleep," he offered.

Elena finally closed her eyes, unable to keep from yawning.

"Stay until after," she muttered, knowing it wouldn't make a difference.

She wouldn't sleep comfortably that night no matter what.

* * *

Sure enough, it didn't take long for Elena to wake up, gasping for air with her nightmare still lingering on the edge of her mind. The images were clear enough, confirming her suspicions. She sighed, running a hand through her hair that had loosened from the messy bun. It only took her a few moments to realize that she was not alone. A muscled arm was lying across her middle. Elena turned her head to see that Jax was lying, still dressed in everything except for his cut and shoes. Part of her wanted to wake him, to tell him that he really didn't have to stay with her. But something stopped her.

She hadn't seen him look this peaceful since they met almost a month before. His face was lax and his mouth was slightly open, letting out soft breaths. His blonde hair was mussed, sticking up in a few places. Elena shifted slightly, reaching over to smooth it out. Jax, barely waking up, caught her wrist in his hand pulled her closer. It was only out of surprise that she didn't pull away, or that's what she told herself.

"Go back to sleep," he mumbled.

Elena remained tensed up for several more moments before finally letting the herself relax. But she couldn't completely forget about what she dreamed. After all, didn't Evan say that he would meet her in Macon Woods? The exact same place where Tristen was found? She didn't want to think it, but at the same time she wouldn't put it past the arrogant asshole to rape a girl.

* * *

"You feelin' better this morning?"

Elena shrugged from where she was leaning against the kitchen counter sipping at a cup of coffee.

"Are they going to find this guy?" she asked Gemma.

"I hope so," the older woman sighed, pouring herself a cup of the hot liquid before pouring sugar and cream in. "It would certainly give the town peace of mind, knowing that the asshole is behind bars and not out to rape the rest of the little girls in Charming."

Elena chewed on her lower lip, her silence grabbing Gemma's notice.

"Something on your mind?"

She started to say no but changed her mind, wanting ask one more thing.

"If I had a possible suspect, do I tell the club or do I tell the cops? I'm not sure how to go about this," she admitted.

Gemma lifted an eyebrow.

"You have a possible suspect?"

Elena nodded in response.

"A guy that goes to my school. He's one of the ones who won't really take no for an answer. He's always making innuendos about having sex with me. Yesterday, at school, Evan asked me if I was going to Funtown and then told me that he would meet me in Macon Woods."

It felt good to get it all off of her chest. Now she felt less pent up and ready to do something about it. If it was Evan, she was going to make sure that he got what he deserved one way or another.

"Come on. We'll head to the garage," Gemma decided.

Elena nodded, somehow knowing that's what she would choose to do.

"You said his name is Evan?" she asked as they drove through the town.

"Yeah. He's sort of the ringleader of his gang of idiots," Elena explained.

Gemma sighed heavily.

"Why? Do you know who he is?" she asked.

"Ernest Darby's son," the other woman replied.

Elena remembered hearing that name before and it didn't take long for her to figure it out.

"Darby…the leader of the Nords."

Gemma nodded, pulling into the parking lot of Teller-Morrow. Clay and Jax were walking towards them before they even got out of the car, both talking to Chibs in low voices. One of the mechanics, Lowell, came up to Gemma, distracting her as he asked a question about a customer's papers.

"McKeevy's gonna want his usual per-month order and a month's insurance," Elena heard Chibs say as they neared her.

"I can't get my hands on 200K. I got every spare cent tied up in the rebuild," Clay huffed, shaking his head with frustration clear on his face.

"So what do I tell him?" the Scotsman asked.

"How much time do we have?" Jax questioned, noticing that Elena was there once he glanced up.

He looked her over, giving her a nod before turning to face the other two men.

"Well, he's going up north tomorrow. Don't know for how long, but when he gets back, he'll want his cash before he goes to Dungloe," Chibs replied to Jax.

"Tell the shamrock I'll give him his money. But I want you to go with him. Courtesy escort. Let me know who he's meetin' with," Clay instructed.

Chibs nodded, turning to walk to his bike. Jax moved towards Elena, bumping her with his shoulder when he reached her.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Fine," she said, playing with the strap on her purse.

Elena looked up, recognizing the hint of concern in his blue eyes. Before either of them could say another word, they heard a car pulling up and glanced back.

"Who's the dude in the Benz?" Half-Sack questioned, walking out of the garage.

"Elliot Oswald," Tig answered him, moving to stand beside Jax.

Elena watched as he climbed out, a haunted look on the man's face.

"As in Oswald Lumber?" Half-Sack said, sounding surprised.

"Yeah, Oswald Lumber, Oswald Beef, Oswald Construction," Tig listed.

Elliot walked up to them, addressing Clay first.

"Can I talk to you?" he asked.

The president of Sam Crow nodded in agreement, gesturing to the office. Before Elliot walked in, he caught sight of Elena standing next to Jax.

"You found my little girl," he recognized.

Elena simply nodded, confirming his words.

"I want her in there," Elliot decided.

Clay and Jax both looked as surprised as she felt. She checked with the older man, waiting for Clay to show his agreement before walking into the office with the other three. Once the door was shut, Elliot took a seat and began talking.

"My daughter's still in shock. She doesn't remember much," he said, his voice slightly hoarse. "The asshole busted her in the jaw and threw her down in the dirt, raped her. She's thirteen years old."

"What did the cops say?" Jax questioned.

Elliot scoffed, shaking his head.

They took a report. Hale's out looking," he said, sounding like he doubted the police department's ability to do anything about this.

The devastated father looked up at Clay, his eyes pleading.

"I want you to find him. You bring him to me first. I'll pay anything you want."

Elena realized exactly what he was asking for and she looked up at Clay to see that he had a calculating look on his face.

"Who do you think we are, Elliot?" he finally said.

"The Oswalds have been in this town a lot longer than Sam Crow. I know what you are," Elliot said bluntly.

Clay let out a sigh as Elena and Jax both stared at him expectantly.

"I don't want your money. Nobody comes into my town and does this to an innocent girl," he decided, stepping closer to Elliot. "We'll find the sick bastard. But when I deliver him to you, I'm gonna need to know that justice will be served. You get what I'm saying, old friend?"

Clay held out his hand, making it clear what he wanted.

"Yeah," Elliot nodded, shaking his hand as he stood.

His eyes flickered over to Elena and he stepped towards her.

"Thank you for finding her, for making sure she was taken care of," he said, drawing her into a hug.

Despite her surprise, Elena embraced him gently, patting his back.

"How is she doing?" she asked.

"She's sleeping a lot," he said simply, nodding at the others before walking out.

Before Clay and Jax could leave, Elena knew that she had to tell them her suspicions. After all, it might put them on the right path. She told them what she told Gemma about Evan as they listened patiently.

"You think this guy has the balls to do something like this in our town?" Clay asked.

"I think he has the lack of brains to do something like this," Elena replied simply.

He considered her words before nodding once.

"I don't want you to let her out of your sight. If Darby's kid is the guy we're looking for, he might be looking to repeat his performance. Stay with Jax."

Elena didn't argue, relieved that it was Jax and not Bobby or Tig. As much as she liked those two, being alone with them would just be strange. She'd be all right with Half-Sack, Juice, or Chibs.

"Come on. I'm calling a meeting," Clay said, leading them out.

By the time that all of the guys were gathered in the chapel, Elena was stuck out in the bar with Half-Sack staring at the closed door.

"Do they know I can hear them?" she asked.

"I don't think they care. This is a special circumstance," Half-Sack shrugged, handing her a bottle of Coke.

* * *

"We got a two-hundred grand deficit hangin' over our heads. Do we really, really wanna be out there playin' some pro bono Lone Ranger?" Tig questioned, shaking his head.

"Guy raped a 13-year-old," Jax reminded him, a disgusted tone in his voice.

"Thirteen. Thirteen!" Bobby said loudly, shaking his head.

Tig sighed, putting his cigarette out.

"I get it. I just don't like puttin' my ass on the line for some outsider," he said simply, looking at their president. "Clay, Oswald doesn't give a shit about Sam Crow."

Clay considered his words for a moment before speaking.

"You know, people get jammed up in this town, they don't go to the cops. They come to us."

"That's right, us," Chibs nodded in agreement.

"And that means somethin' to me," Clay continued, shaking his head. "I don't know. Maybe I got somethin' to prove with this guy. You know, that's my shit. So, anybody wants to pass on this-"

"We're in," Jax cut him off.

His words started up a barrage of agreements from the men at the table.

"Oh, no way. I'm in!" Chibs decided.

"We're in," Bobby nodded.

"Absolutely. I'm in," Juice agreed.

Tig looked around at them before shrugging his shoulders.

"I'm in too. Guess we're huntin' a tot banger then."

"Good," Clay nodded, looking proud of them. "So what do we know?"

"We saw a couple of guys sportin' Aryan ink. Not sure if they were Darby's guys. But Elena did see Darby's kid and some of his friends by the arcade where Oswald's girl was seen last," Jax informed them all.

"And Macon Woods is right on the Lodi border. Darby's got a meth shack couple of miles from there," Clay said.

Bobby clicked his tongue, shaking his head.

"Rape as retaliation."

"Certainly in the Nord wheelhouse," Jax said.

Clay looked past them at Juice.

"Tap into the Sanwa database. Find out which Nords get hard for underage girls," he instructed.

"Got it," Juice agreed.

"Bobby and I'll go after Darby," Tig offered as Bobby hummed in agreement.

Jax leaned forward, nodding at Chibs.

"We'll head to Funtown and talk to the carnies. Elena'll stick with us," he decided.

Clay agreed to it all, banging the gavel to dismiss them.

* * *

Once the guys filtered out of the meeting room, Elena fell into step with Chibs and Jax. Clay walked with them, his conversation with his VP halted when they saw the cop cars pulling into the parking lot of the garage.

"You girls selling cookies?" Clay asked as they walked up to them.

Elena didn't leave, though she walked slightly behind Jax and Chibs when they stepped in front of her automatically.

"We're investigating a sexual assault," Hale informed them, looking far too happy to be there.

"You serious?" Jax demanded.

The deputy chief nodded in response.

"Yeah. I need to talk to all your guys that were at the carnival last night. If they're not here, get them here now," he instructed.

Clay took off his sunglasses, looking less than pleased.

"You think a Son had something to do with that rape?" he demanded.

"Half of 'em have violent crimes on their rap sheets. Just following logic," Hale said, shrugging.

Elena didn't know why the words slipped from her mouth. It must have been out of anger that the police were investigating Sam Crow, who didn't have anything to do with it, out of spite instead of looking for who really might have done it.

"Wasn't it just last week four Oakland cops were arrested for prostitution and rape?" she asked.

Jax, Clay, and Chibs all looked surprised and amused at her words and the vehemence behind them. The deputy chief didn't look as though he expected her words either, slightly taken aback by them.

"Logic tells me we should ask where your dick was last night," Jax continued for her.

"And don't say, 'in your mama'," Clay said tauntingly as Chibs and Jax exchanged an amused look.

Hale finally got over his shock and sneered at them.

"Officers Mann and Fain will be taking your statements. It could take hours," he said, gesturing to the two police officers behind him.

"I'm tryin' to run a business here," Clay reminded him.

"We can do it here, at the station house…wherever you wanna do it," Hale said simply, shrugging at him. "And don't say, 'in your mama'."

They all glowered at his back as he walked away.

* * *

Juice and Half-Sack were at a supply center loading up on stuff for the garage when the former got a call.

"Yo, I gotta head back to TM. Charming PD's grilling everyone who was at the carnival," Juice informed the prospect once he hung up. "Jax wants you to follow Hale, keep tabs on him."

Half-Sack looked at him with a frown, knowing that he would take the tow truck that they came in.

"F-Follow him on what?" he asked, hoping that the answer wouldn't be humiliating.

When Juice began laughing, Half-Sack lost all of that hope, turning to look at whatever he would be subjected to that day. Sure enough, a kid-sized motorcycle was parked in a corner. Sometimes being a part of Sam Crow was great. Then things like this happened and he almost wished that he were back in Iraq. Juice was still laughing as he drove off, leaving Half-Sack no other choice.

* * *

After an hour, the two police officers barely asked them any questions. It didn't take any of them long to realize that they weren't being questioned, or not questioned so far, for any legitimate reason. The cops were stalling them.

"I can't believe these assholes are takin' another coffee break," Jax said, shaking his head.

Elena looked over from where she was perched atop a stack of crates. Clay, Tig, and Jax were watching the two policemen as they drank coffee in the parking lot.

"Total jerk off," Clay muttered angrily. "Hale must know we're lookin' for the guy. We're gonna be here all day."

Both Jax and Clay looked over at Tig expectantly.

"Oh. Two double tranquiccinos coming up."

He turned around to walk into the office, giving Elena a look. She sighed, jumping down before following him in.

"You may need to know this one day," Tig said, handing her a small bag of crushed pills.

"I don't plan on poisoning anyone anytime soon," she replied, pouring the sleeping pills into the hot liquid.

"No one ever really plans it. They just wake up one day and realize that it's necessary," he shrugged.

She rolled her eyes, mixing the powder into the coffee.

"Looking at a 12-hour nap," Tig said as Clay entered.

"Nice," the president nodded, winking at Elena.

Jax walked in next, brushing his hand over her lower back. She shivered slightly, looking up at him.

"Coming for refills," he warned.

Elena put on her most charming smile when she saw the cops approaching, holding up the coffee.

"Fresh pot, boys," she said with a smile, pouring it out for them when they held their Styrofoam cups out. "It's hot."

They watched as they both sipped at it. Elena felt strangely triumphant, turning to Jax.

"Jackson?" she offered, holding the pot up.

"No, thank you," he said with a smirk.

She grinned back at him, setting it down.

"Juice should be here soon, Clay," Tig said for the cops' benefit, though the rest knew that he was lying.

"Sometimes he gets lost," Clay explained to the policemen, both of whom looked doubtful.

Before they could say anything, one dropped and Tig caught him, setting him in a chair. The next almost fell into the desk but Clay propped him up, lowering him to the floor.

"That was quick," Tig remarked.

"Good to the last drop," Clay said, grinning as they walked out of the office.

"Don't fall on the floor!" Jax said tauntingly, closing the door behind them.

They all laughed, heading towards the bikes to take off.

* * *

When they got to the fairgrounds, Elena was torn between amusement and sympathy when she saw Half-Sack perched on a too-small motorcycle. He looked humiliated, glowering at Jax and Chibs when they parked next to him.

"He's been talkin' to the Fun Town carnies for over an hour," he muttered, his voice clearly communicating his unhappiness.

Jax nodded, looking up at where Hale was walking towards his car.

"Stay on him."

Half-Sack huffed but didn't say a word of complaint.

"Can I go back to the garage and get my bike?" he asked.

"Nope," Chibs answered.

Elena rolled her eyes but remained quiet, knowing that this hazing ritual had nothing to do with her.

"He's going," Jax warned, pointing to where Hale was driving off.

Half-Sack gave them a pained glance before puttering off on the pathetic little bike.

"Don't you think there's a chance that Hale notices him tailing him like that?" she asked as they walked towards the carnies.

"If he does, he's too busy laughing his ass off to be bothered," Chibs said with a grin.

Elena didn't say anything else, remaining silent when they reached the group of men.

"See this girl last night?" Jax asked, holding up a picture of Tristen.

"Who are you?" one of the men demanded.

He looked like the leader, the way he stepped up towards them.

"Concerned citizens. And what did you just say to that cop?" Chibs demanded.

"Why don't you ask him yourself?"

Jax narrowed his eyes, refusing to be pushed around.

"Cause we're askin' you, Uncle Vinky. This girl got raped less than a mile away. Shit like that doesn't happen in our town, which points to an outsider," he said, making his point clear.

"And there's not much more outsiders than you muppets," Chibs said, disgust in his voice.

Several of the carnies stepped forward, looking threatening.

"Hey. Hey, it can go that way if you want," Chibs said.

Elena didn't have to look to know that Jax was touching the knife that was always strapped to his belt. The leader waved his men down, nodding at them.

"All right. I'll tell you what I told the cop," he finally agreed, looking wary. "All my guys were here powering down rides, chaining up booths. The security guards that your town hired will tell you the same thing."

Jax and Chibs exchanged a look before deciding that they were satisfied, turning to walk away. Elena followed, glancing over her shoulder when she felt chills crawl up her spine. Several of the men were leering at her, making her wonder if they were telling the truth.

* * *

"We got no sign of Darby," Tig informed Clay as they met in the parking lot of Teller-Morrow.

"Looked at the cook shacks, his house, the Dog. Looked all over for that guy," Bobby continued.

Clay sighed, rubbing at his jaw.

"Maybe he's gone underground," he suggested.

Juice ran up, brandishing a stack of papers.

"Hey. Three of Darby's guys have done time for sex crimes. Two are still in P. Bay, other's Johnny Yates. Got a PO Box in Pope."

Tig took a paper and pointed at the picture of Johnny Yates.

"Hey, we saw this guy at the carnival yesterday."

"Yeah," Bobby nodded in agreement.

"You sure?" Clay asked.

"Yes," they said at once.

Before another word could be said, Clay's phone began ringing.

"Hang on," he said, holding a hand up before answering. "I'm in the middle of it, baby."

"You still lookin' for Darby?" Gemma asked.

"Yeah. Why?" Clay asked.

"He's at the hospital. Heading up to the south wing."

He looked relieving, thanking God for his wife.

"Thank you," Clay said before hanging up. "Darby's at St. Thomas."

Tig and Bobby straightened up, prepared to go.

"Finish prepping the AK's. Put 'em in the duffel, full clips," Clay instructed Juice.

"Got it."

Tig reached out, tapping Juice's shoulder.

"Hey, hey. Put these in my box," he said, handing over a bag of the tranq pills.

"What are they?"

"They're vitamins," Tig answered with a shrug.

Juice watched as they pulled away before sneakily putting a pill in his mouth.

* * *

When they pulled up to the barber shop on Main Street, Jax nodded at Chibs and gestured for Elena to follow him inside.

"Why?" she asked.

"You should meet Unser," he said simply.

When they walked inside, the barber looked up and nodded at Jax.

"Give us a minute, Floyd," he requested.

"I'll give you two," the older man replied, giving Jax a fist bump as the Chief of Police sat up and wiped the cream from his face.

When Floyd walked out, Jax and Elena sat down in two chairs.

"Jesus Christ. My one peaceful moment of the day," Unser muttered.

"Unser, this is Elena, a friend of the club," Jax introduced them, paying no attention to his complaints.

"Nice to meet you," she nodded at him.

Unser looked surprised, his eyebrows rising.

"Where'd you meet someone this nice?" he asked.

Jax simply gave him a look before getting down to business.

"We need to know where Hale's at with the Oswald case."

Unser sighed, looking resigned.

"Do you have any idea how much heat I'm gettin' on this? I do anything to compromise this case…"

"I'm not askin' you to compromise. Just tell us what you know," Jax said.

Unser hesitated before rolling his eyes.

"Got nothing…no leads, no witnesses," he admitted. "Only one who knows anything is the girl, and she's saying she's got no memory of it. And Karen won't let anyone near her. Guess I don't blame her. Probably do the same if it was my kid."

Jax sighed, nodding as he stood.

"All right."

Elena moved to follow him but Unser stopped them when he spoke again.

"Jax, you guys cannot screw me on this. If I don't catch this rapist, I'm the one under the microscope. That's just bad for all of us."

"Don't worry, Chief. We'll catch him," he assured the cop.

Elena gave Unser a small smile just before Jax opened the door for her.

"Ah, shit," she heard him mutter as they left.

"Just out of curiosity," Elena said as they walked towards Jax's bike. "When you find this guy, what are you going to do?"

Jax glanced over his shoulder at her.

"Hand him over to Oswald," he said.

"And if he backs out?"

He considered it for a moment before asking a question in reply.

"What do you think we should do to him?"

Elena felt like the question was a test for some reason, hesitating as she glanced at Chibs. He looked just as interested as Jax to hear her answer.

"Poetic justice," she finally said, stepping closer to Jax. "Cut his dick off."

Both of the men looked surprised and slightly alarmed by her words.

"Is that a joke?" Jax asked, looking uncertain as he mounted his bike.

Elena shook her head, climbing on behind him.

"Any man who rapes thirteen-year-old girls doesn't have much of a right to it anyway," she decided, wrapping her arms around his waist.

Jax and Chibs exchanged an impressed look before taking off towards the clubhouse.

* * *

Just as Darby walked out of the hospital, Clay pulled up with Tig and Bobby on his flank.

"My guys tellin' me you been lookin' for me," the leader of the Nords said as they walked up to him. "You think we had somethin' to do with that kid getting raped last night."

"Thought crossed my mind," Clay nodded.

Tig looked at Darby with disgust.

"Tearin' up the daughter of an important citizen like that…you know, maybe that's your way of pissin' on Charming ground," he suggested.

"When I decide to piss on Charming, it ain't gonna be on a little girl," Darby corrected him.

Clay didn't give his words much thought.

"We know about your hook-up with the Mayans. I'm guessing you and Alvarez got kinda cozy in Chino."

"Oh, I'm just tryin' to learn how to get along with my brothers of color. Opening my mind to bigger possibilities," the other man shrugged with a smirk.

"Well, don't think too big. A small mind suits you." Clay informed him.

"Last night, what? What?" Tig demanded.

Darby sighed, looking between the three Sons.

"All my guys were with me. We ate at Meyers, and we shot pool at the Dog. Ask around."

"Your kid?" Bobby said.

"He was at Funtown for a while but joined us at the bar before the sun set. I have a dozen witnesses who can back that up," Darby replied.

"What about Johnny Yates?" Clay questioned.

Darby looked surprised at the mention of the name.

"Yates? Oh, he ain't with us," he said, shaking his head. "That boy never fit in. Pissed off Whistler one night, shattered Johnny's nose. Didn't see him again. You do remember Whistler."

Bobby and Clay exchanged a glance, both knowing that Jax had killed Whistler a month ago right after the explosion at their gun warehouse.

"Oh, yeah, I remember him. Don't see him around much anymore," Tig shrugged, unbothered by Darby's angry look.

"Yeah, he just fell off the face of the earth. It's funny how easy that can happen," he said, a threat in his words.

"Why don't you and me straighten out our business another time? Right now, I need an address on Yates," Clay said, changing the subject.

Darby shook his head with a scoff.

"You know I ain't gonna rat him out to you. Ain't gonna happen," he refused.

"Hey! He's got a half a dozen sex crimes on his rap sheet. Now if he raped that girl, the quicker I find him, the quicker the eyes are off both of us."

They were interrupted from talking anymore when Hale pulled up to the hospital, his eyes narrowed at the four men. Darby took a deep breath before finally giving them the information that they wanted.

"His mother raised fightin' dogs up in Pope. He used to stay with her. I think she remarried. Last name is Chester," he informed them.

"Thanks," Clay said with a grin.

Before they could walk off, Darby stopped them.

"Whatever shit you stir up, make sure the Nords stay clear of it," he said.

Clay simply nodded, turning to leave.

"Call Trammel. See if he can scare up an address on Mother Yates. I want bodies on this," he said as they approached their bikes.

"You think, uh, Darby could be settin' us up?" Bobby asked.

"I don't know. But if he does tip off Yates, we could be walkin' into an angry whiteout."

Clay glanced up before getting on his bike, his eyebrow lifting when he saw Half-Sack puttering up to the hospital on his tiny bike.

"Do I even ask?" he asked as the other two men exchanged a grin.

"No. No, you don't," Tig replied.

* * *

Jax was hurried when he dropped her off at the garage, not even turning off his bike as she climbed off. Clay came hurrying out of the clubhouse with Tig and Bobby close behind him.

"We'll be back," Jax said, looking up at her.

"Don't get killed," she replied simply, smiling at him.

Despite the teasing tone in her voice, there was a hint of seriousness beneath it. He nodded in reply before glancing past her.

"We can't find Juice. Look around for him, would you?" Tig asked, strapping a black duffel bag to his bike.

"Yeah," Elena agreed with a nod, stepping away.

She watched as they peeled out of the parking lot before turning to hurry into the clubhouse.

"Juice?"

Her voice echoed around the empty bar, making it feel strange. Eventually she found him lying down behind the bar, familiar white pills and what looked like gun clips scattered all around him.

"Shit," she sighed, knowing that she couldn't move him.

He was too heavy, even to be dragged. A thought sprung up in Elena's mind as she reached down and picked up a gun clip, going back to the duffel bag in Tig's hands.

"Oh shit!"

Despite her attempts to get a hold of Jax and the others, Elena wasn't able to warn them that they would be going into a possible firefight with no ammunition. She was doing homework at a table when they came in a couple of hours later. Juice was still passed out on the floor and the others looked less than happy.

"Where is he?" Tig said in a dark voice.

Elena simply pointed at the bar, glancing at Jax where he was hovering in the doorway. He tilted his head to the side and she gathered her things before hurrying towards him.

"What happened?"

"It wasn't the guy," he answered simply, leading her towards his bike.

"Where are we going?"

"Hospital. Someone needs to talk to the Oswald girl."

* * *

As soon as they came out of the elevator, Elliot spotted them.

"Did you find the guy?" he asked, rushing up to them.

"No, not yet. We need you to talk to your daughter again," Jax replied.

The older man shook his head insistently.

"Tristen doesn't remember anything after the ride," he said.

"Gotta dig a little deeper. I mean, we need something," Jax tried to convince him. "Did the guy have a car? Was he black, was he white?"

"She's still in shock, all right? Karen just wants her to rest."

Elena stepped forward, giving him a sympathetic look.

"Mr. Oswald, Tristen is our only shot at finding this asshole. If you want our help, you have to talk to her or…" she hesitated, glancing at Jax. "Let me talk to her. I'm the one who found her. Maybe she'll tell me something that helps."

Elliot hesitated, processing her words before nodding slowly.

"I'll talk to Karen," he agreed, glancing at Jax. "You find him."

It only took a few minutes for Karen Oswald to agree, realizing that Tristen might want to actually meet the young woman who found her in the woods. They were lucky that she got to talk to her alone. It was their best chance to figure out who this guy was. Elena walked into the room slowly, swallowing hard when she spotted Tristen sitting up on the bed. She was watching a Disney Channel show on the television, yet another reminder of just how young she was.

"Hi," Elena said quietly.

Tristen looked over at her with a slightly uncertain look.

"You're the one who found me," she said.

She nodded in response, sitting down in the chair next to her bed.

"My name is Elena."

The younger girl didn't say anything for several moments before turning off the television.

"You were with the Morrows. My parents don't like those people and their friends very much. They told me to stay away from them."

Elena fought back the urge to laugh. The guys were right. Elliot Oswald didn't give a damn about the club. He only wanted to use them to find the rapist.

"My mom told me that I shouldn't talk to anyone," Tristen said, reaching for her phone.

"It's okay," Elena said, stilling her movements. "Your mom sent me in here. I told her that I wanted to see how you were doing."

Tristen shrugged, looking slightly relieved.

"I can imagine what you're going through Tristen. I know how scary it is and how horrible you must feel," she said, squeezing her hand gently.

"Have you been…" the other girl trailed off, unwilling to say the words.

Elena shook her head slowly.

"But I've been attacked. I've been hurt and scared just like you," she said.

"How did you get over it?" Tristen asked.

She considered her question for a moment.

"I didn't hide from it," Elena finally said, partially telling the truth and partially hoping that Tristen would realize that she was giving advice.

The other girl wasn't stupid, she immediately realized what she meant.

"My mom told me that it's better to keep it quiet. She said that it will all go away if we just let it," Tristen said in a quiet voice.

Elena sighed, her suspicions confirmed by her words. Karen Oswald was just trying to sweep everything under the rug.

"Your mom is scared, sweetie," she said, keeping her words blunt and honest.

It was the only way that Tristen would really see what had to be done.

"She is?"

Elena nodded in confirmation.

"She is scared of what will happen if the guy who hurt you is caught. She doesn't want you to have to face him again. She doesn't want you to go through any of that," she informed her.

Tristen didn't say anything, looking down at her hands with a small frown.

"Do you know what I'm afraid of?" Elena said.

The other girl looked up with surprise, as if she didn't expect Elena to be scared of anything.

"What?" Tristen asked.

"I'm scared that this is going to happen again. I'm afraid that, if this guy isn't caught, he'll do this to another little girl just like you. Another beautiful, sweet, clever girl who will never be able to take it back."

The younger girl's eyes widened in terror at the thought.

"Tristen, I know that you're scared of what will happen if you tell. But I promise, if you tell me who did this to you, he will get what he deserves. My friends will make sure of it," Elena assured her.

"They'll take him to the police?" Tristen asked.

She hesitated, knowing that there was a point at which too much honesty wasn't good.

"They'll take him to someone," she said simply, hoping that satisfied her.

It seemed to, though Tristen still looked slightly hesitant.

"What if they don't find him?" she asked warily.

"They will," Elena said, no doubt in her mind that Sam Crow would manage it. "Just give me his name and I promise you, he will never do this again."

Tristen considered it for a moment before replying.

"I don't know his name," she admitted.

Elena felt slightly doubtful.

"This is a small town, Tristen. Everyone knows everyone's-" she cut off, realizing what the young girl was trying to say.

She stood up abruptly, taking a deep breath.

"Which one?" she asked.

"He was fat and dressed as a clown," Tristen answered.

Elena nodded, feeling relief that there was finally something for them to go on. She bent over, pressing a quick kiss to Tristen's forehead.

"You are so brave," Elena whispered. "Thank you."

She turned to hurry out, slipping past Karen and Elliot without another word. It was only a matter of time before Tristen decided to tell the police too. Jax was waiting for her at the end of the hall along with Gemma, both of them looking hopeful.

"It was a carnie, dressed as a fat clown," she said quickly.

Jax's face showed his relief and, before she knew it, he was drawing her in and pressing a kiss to her lips. It was over as soon as it began, but it still sent warm shivers through her body.

"Thank you," he said, cupping her cheeks in his hands before shooting her a grin.

Elena watched as he hurried off, feeling exhausted all of the sudden. Gemma wrapped an arm around her shoulders, leading her towards Abel's room.

"You did great, sweetheart," the other woman praised.

She didn't reply, only hoping that this would help Tristen move on.

* * *

If Gemma felt any judgement towards Elena when she dropped her off at the clubhouse, she didn't show it.

"What changed your mind?" the other woman said before she climbed out of the car.

"What do you mean?" Elena replied.

Gemma simply gave her a look.

"Last week you were determined that we weren't your family and that we were in the wrong. But today you helped the club find the rapist knowing that they would pursue their own sort of vengeance," she said.

Elena considered her words for a moment before shrugging simply.

"I just realized that not everything is black and white, especially not in this situation. This club seems to do a lot of good to go along with the bad. Maybe it balances and maybe it doesn't but I'm not the judge of that. I've certainly seen my share of death and violence so that's not really too shocking anymore. But Jax was right about something he said last week, and I figured that out today. I fit in well here, as much as that scares me. I owe it to myself to see how that shapes up, at least."

Gemma looked impressed at her words.

"Well how about that?" she said with a smile.

"What?" Elena said.

The older woman simply shook her head, a knowing smile on her face.

"Get out of here. I'll see you tomorrow."

Elena didn't argue, climbing out of the car. She walked into the clubhouse to see that it was empty once again. After grabbing a beer, she walked back to Jax's room, tossing her things onto his bed. Elena slipped her shoes off and sat down on the bed, putting her headphones in her ears before spreading her homework out in front of her. An hour passed and she managed to finish everything, amazingly enough. Elena was packing up her books and singing softly to herself when Jax came in, looking exhausted and exasperated. If he was surprised to see her, he didn't say anything. Instead he shoved off his shoes and removed his cut. Elena watched as he took his knife sheath off first before pulling a gun out of the back of his pants. The sight of the firearm didn't scare her as much as it should have.

"What happened?" she finally asked warily.

Jax huffed out a sigh, grabbing the back of his t-shirt before hauling it over his head. Despite having seen him shirtless before, her eyes widened at the sight of his muscled torso. It was visible to her only for a few moments before he collapsed onto the bed beside her.

"Clay was working some bullshit angle this entire time," he grumbled, turning his head to lay it on her lap.

Elena felt surprised for a moment before reaching down to thread her fingers through his long blonde hair. Her other hand lightly traced the reaper tattoo on his back.

"What did he do?"

Jax's hand curled around her thigh and warm shivers curled down her spine.

"Apparently Oswald was putting some land up for sale to create a housing development. That wouldn't be good for the club so Clay was always plotting to put a stop to it, but he didn't tell anyone about it. Of course, Oswald backed out at the last second but he held the weapon that was used to…"

He didn't have to finish. Elena was getting a clear picture of what was going on.

"Clay is going to use the weapon to blackmail Elliot Oswald into rescinding the sale of his land," she realized.

"Yep," Jax confirmed.

Elena didn't say anything else, knowing that it really wasn't her business. It was strange and slightly terrifying how natural it felt, to be here with this man, or to be fitting into this dangerous motorcycle club at all. When Jax finally turned over, looking up at her with his head still lying on her lap, she glanced down at him with a small smile.

"Thank you, for today. We couldn't have got this done without you," he said, reaching up to catch her hand where it was running through his hair.

"I wanted to help for Tristen," Elena shrugged, her heart quickening in her chest when Jax skimmed his lips over the inside of her wrist.

"Is that it?" he asked, his breath washing over her skin and making her shiver.

She shook her head, biting down on her lower lip.

"You were right," Elena finally admitted. "I don't know why but…I think I belong here."

Jax grinned up at her, all of the worries cleared from his face for now.

"Come on," he said, pulling her down to lay with him.

"What are we doing?" Elena asked hesitantly.

He leaned up, reaching over to turn the lamp off.

"Honestly? Last night was the best sleep I've gotten in months," Jax informed her.

She couldn't help but laugh, curling into his side when he tugged her towards him. Elena pressed her hand over his heart, feeling it beat strongly beneath her fingers. It was almost exhilarating, feeling how warm and human he was beneath her. Despite the fact that nothing was normal in Charming, being with Jax and the club made her feel more normal than she had since her parents died. With those thoughts lingering in her mind, she fell into an easy sleep.

* * *

_When she woke, the sunlight was peeking through the thin curtains covering the window. She sat up, stretching out as she heard the sound of the shower running in the adjoining bathroom. With a small smile, she slid out of bed and walked across the bedroom, opening the door. Steam hung in the air, making her shiver slightly as she pulled his t-shirt over her head. Just before she slipped into the shower to join him, she caught sight of herself in the mirror. Her lips were still slightly swollen and she could see hickeys on her throat and chest and bruises on her hips and thighs from the night before. She wore them with pride, knowing that he gave them to her to mark her as his._

"_Isobel," his voice called, reaching out to catch her wrist._

_She let out a soft laugh, allowing herself to be pulled beneath the warm spray._

Elena woke with a sharp gasp, sitting up as she rubbed at her eyes. The dream replayed in her mind over and over again as she glanced around the room. It was obvious where it took place. She would recognize the back rooms of the clubhouse anywhere. The woman that she saw in the mirror was a younger, teenage version of her mother. For some reason, she felt confident that it was not just a dream. Isobel had spent time in Charming.

* * *

Hale was furious, but that was nothing new. After talking with the carnies, it was clear that Sam Crow had gotten a hold of the rapist. They'd beat him again.

"Officer!" a voice called behind him.

He turned to see a man climbing out of a cab, sunglasses over his eyes and a black business suit on.

"Yes?" the deputy chief said, confused as to who this was.

"Agent Kohn, ATF, Chicago Three Division," the man introduced himself.

The presence of ATF in Charming could only mean something good for him.

"Deputy Chief Hale," he said, holding out his hand to shake. "What brings you here?"

"Been working an interstate weapons case. Outlaw crew in your town may be involved…Sons of Anarchy?" Kohn said questioningly.

Suddenly, Hale's day was looking up quite nicely.

"Welcome to Charming."

* * *

**I would love to hear what you think!**


	6. The Fire of a Burning Heart's Desire

**Disclaimer: I do not own TVD or SoA.**

**Thank you so much to DrAnime203, beverlie4055, Dark Alana, Dean Winchester Rocks, JMHUW, LoveLulu, DemonTrapsAndVervain, JaxElenafan, amanda, HisSecretLover18, and the two guests for reviewing! I appreciate all of your comments!**

**Chapter Title: Sleep Alone – Bat For Lashes**

**A few things:**

**1. If you want to keep up with timelines, it's been almost two and a half months since Elena arrived in Charming.**

**2. As always, Elena's outfits are on my profile.**

**3. Enjoy and please review!**

* * *

Hale sat behind his desk, looking up at the ATF agent. He could barely hold back his glee, hoping more than anything that the presence of this man in Charming would finally kick-start the downfall of the resident motorcycle club. Until then, he would do his part.

"Sam Crow's been in this town since I was a kid. My old man was a county judge. He saw some of them catch their due. But for the most part, Clay and the others keep slipping through the legal cracks," he explained.

"Been chatting folks up last couple of days. Most of them get pretty quiet when I ask about Sons of Anarchy," Kohn said, leaning against the wall across from his desk.

Hale nodded in response.

"Yeah. Clay has some of the locals convinced that his brand of outlaw justice keeps away the corporate bogeyman."

The agent let out a scoff.

"I'd say he's right. Franchise development in Charming's pretty much nonexistent. Been jonesing for a Starbucks since I got here," Kohn said, smiling slightly

Hale stared at him for a moment before getting up. He crossed the room, closing the door to his office.

"Sam Crow isn't stonewalling growth by themselves," he said quietly, not wanting anyone to overhear. "They get a lot of help, some of it from inside this department."

Kohn didn't look surprised, simply nodding in response before taking a seat.

* * *

Jax and Clay both stood beside a motorcycle that sat on a pedestal. It was being restored currently, Jax making it his project.

"I gotta bring it in through here. Afraid the amped-up carb's gonna throw too much heat on the line," he said, gesturing as he spoke.

"It might," Clay nodded in agreement. "That new Graytex cable can take a shitload of heat though."

Neither of them noticed Tig pulling up until he was right beside them.

"We got troubles."

* * *

When the intercom came on over their heads, Elena watched the teacher sigh heavily, frustrated by the interruption of her class. It was only first period and she felt like there was going to be a long day ahead of her.

"Mrs. Marsh?" the receptionist in the front office said.

"Yes?" the older woman asked impatiently.

"We need one of your students in the office, Elena Gilbert. She can bring her belongings."

Elena's eyes widened in surprise and she wondered why she was being called out of the office. She briefly entertained the idea that it might have something to do with Tristen's rape and the sudden disappearance of her attacker, but that all happened two weeks ago. It wouldn't make any sense for them to be coming now. She stood up, gathering her bag and shoving everything in amidst the stares of her peers. With a wave goodbye at her teacher, Elena hurried out and down the hallway. When she stepped into the administration office, she immediately realized the reason behind her summons.

"What happened?" she asked, hurrying up to Gemma. "Is it Abel?"

The other woman didn't answer, looking surprised and slightly impressed at her immediate reaction.

"Did something happen to Jax?" Elena said, pushing her for information.

"No, they're fine," Gemma assured her.

"Then why…"

She was cut off when Gemma led her out of the office with a hand on her back.

"Let's go. I'll explain on the way," she said simply.

Elena walked out to the parking lot with her, feeling more curious and slightly apprehensive.

"Elijah called," Gemma said when they got in the car.

"What? What did he say?" Elena said, her eyes widening.

"Something is happening," she replied, backing the car out of the space before pulling towards the exit of the lot. "The guy who has it out for you…"

"Klaus," Elena cut her off.

Gemma nodded in response, pulling out onto the main road.

"He's got informants here in California. Elijah wants to get you somewhere safe," she explained.

Elena felt a hint of disappointment settling in her chest. Part of her was hoping that word would come that Klaus was dead.

"But they can't get here. This town is warded against vampires and other things," she reminded her.

"These spies are human," Gemma informed her.

She felt a thrill of fear, wondering what would happen if Klaus discovered she was alive and living in California. Elena didn't have to think very hard, remembering Katherine's story. He would slaughter anyone that she'd ever known or loved.

"What do we do?" she questioned, slightly more panicked now.

"We talk to Clay and figure out where to send you," Gemma said simply.

Elena sat back in her seat, knowing better than to argue. As she thought over it, part of her felt a little bit disgruntled at the fact that Elijah called Gemma instead of contacting her directly. She brushed the thought off, reminding herself that there were much more important things to dwell on.

* * *

"Want to tell me what the fed's doing in Charming?" Unser demanded, walking into his deputy chief's office.

Hale didn't even glance up from the case file that he was reading as he answered.

"Showed up two days ago. Chicago division. Looking into Sam Crow."

"And I'm just finding out now," the chief huffed. "How long is he gonna be here?"

The younger man finally looked up, amusement flashing in his eyes.

"No idea. He's collecting intel. Fact finding. Didn't go into too much detail," he informed him.

Unser narrowed his eyes, displeased at the way that Hale was acting.

"I don't want you out rogueing with this guy, you hear me? Stick to Charming business. This fed wants anything, he runs it through me," he instructed.

"Oh, of course," Hale nodded.

He gave him a warning look before turning to walk out.

"You're the chief," the deputy chief said, sounding smug.

Unser turned around, nodding once.

"That's right. I'm the goddamn chief," he said, hoping that the other man wouldn't forget it.

* * *

They were gathered in the chapel almost immediately, all talking over the presence of the fed in Charming.

"We've taken every precaution to stay out of ATF's crosshairs. No busts, no investigations for five years. We don't know this guy's here for us," Clay reminded them.

"Hale flagged Bluebird as our gun warehouse," Jax spoke up, flicking ashes from his cigarette into a tray. "He's pissed off we made Unser crush the case, and he called in the feds. I think it's gotta be about us."

"Be my guess," Bobby nodded in agreement.

The men around the table all exchanged wary expressions.

"And we've got a garage full of twenty-five to life," Tig said.

"Any legit place we store those guns is a straight line back to us," Clay sighed.

Bobby leaned forward, looking as though he was thinking.

"Can't Rosen get us some storage short term?" he suggested.

"He's killing Bluebird, man. He's setting up a dummy corp. It takes a few weeks," Clay said with a shake of his head.

They all thought about it, trying to figure out a way to get around this.

"We got that call from Jury last week," Jax finally said, an idea forming in his head.

He glanced around the room before speaking, sitting up a little straighter.

"Mayans pressing the Devil's Tribe to pay a vig to keep running book and girls out of Nevada," he informed them before looking at Clay. "Look, maybe I do head to Indian Hills, offer Jury some advice. He offers our AKs a safe house."

"No. No. That's a risky ride, brother," Juice said, shaking his head. "Northern Nevada is Mayan territory. They're still looking to settle the score from our little raid."

Bobby couldn't help but agree with the technical genius.

"The Mayans know that the Tribe's a brother club. Part of asking for that vig is about shitting on us. They knew Jury would call. They're gonna be watching."

"That's what I'm saying. That's why just me and you go, under the radar," Jax said to Bobby. "We'll bring the guns in the same way."

Clay considered it for a moment before speaking.

"And you think you could bring Jury on board?"

"Shit. My dad saved his ass in Vietnam. He owes the Tellers a chit," Jax said, confident in his plan.

He saw the hesitation on the president's face and continued.

"Look, man. We're not gonna go cowboy. I promise."

"Promise," Bobby agreed, crossing his fingers over his heart.

Clay took a drag of his cigar before nodding.

"Low profile. I don't want no wetbacks knowing we crossed into NV," he decided, glancing over at Tig. "They pull this off, I want you and Juice driving the barrels."

"Done. We'll need something big though," Tig said.

"I'll call Unser," Clay assured him.

* * *

When they arrived at the garage, the guys were coming out of the clubhouse, obviously just having finished a meeting.

"What's going on?" Clay asked, looking confused to see Elena there instead of at school.

Jax gave her a concerned look and she waved it off, silently telling him that she was all right.

"Elena's gotta get out of Charming for a couple of days," Gemma said simply, her tone making the seriousness of the situation clear.

"Why? What happened?" Jax questioned.

Gemma and Clay exchanged a wary look and Elena remembered that Jax had no idea why she was really in Charming.

"I came here because I was in danger. My aunt and uncle were both killed by the same man and he wants me dead too. If he finds me here, he'll kill the rest of my family and my friends in Virginia, and then he'll find a way to kill me," she spoke up, being as vague as possible while still telling the truth.

"Why didn't you tell us this?" Jax said, looking at Gemma and Clay.

"It wasn't important," the president of the club answered.

"The guy that's after her has people sniffing around this area. She needs to get out," Gemma said, stressing the necessity for a timely escape.

Clay considered it before looking at Jax and Bobby.

"Take her with you to Nevada," he decided.

Several of them protested at once, Elena mainly speaking up because she didn't get any say in the decision. Jax didn't like it because he was certain that there might be danger involved, not lifting her confidence at all. Gemma only said something because she had no idea that anyone was going to Nevada.

"It's the safest of options, unless you can figure out something else," Clay said, making his voice louder than everyone else's.

No one spoke up this time.

"Great. Get going," he nodded at them.

Elena pressed her lips together to keep from telling him to go fuck himself, or something of a similar sort.

"It'll be all right," Gemma assured her giving her a quick hug.

She didn't reply, huffing out a sigh before following Jax and Bobby over to their motorcycles. Just as they prepared to leave, a car pulled into the lot and Elena immediately recognized the driver. She felt a thrill of annoyance but hid it away, keeping her face blank.

"All right. Give me a minute," Jax said, climbing off of the bike.

"Yeah, I'll find you," Bobby said, nodding at Elena before taking off.

Jax walked towards the black car just as Tara was getting out.

"Everything okay?"

"Yeah. I was hoping you could help with the Cutlass. It's in pretty sad shape," the doctor said, nodding at the car that she drove.

Elena stared at her, noticing that she looked pale and sort of shaken up.

"Shit! This was your dad's, right?" Jax asked, circling the Cutlass.

"It was in the garage under two tons of old newspapers," Tara said, glancing over her shoulder at Jax's bike where she sat.

There was uncertainty on her face that somehow made Elena feel satisfied.

"Why don't you bring it in back? Have Lowell take a look at it," Jax suggested.

"Okay. Thanks," Tara said, giving him a smile. "I was hoping you could give me a lift home."

"Actually, I'm just heading out for a couple of days," he replied.

Elena smiled this time when the other woman looked at her, realizing that Jax wasn't going out of town alone.

"Okay," Tara nodded, looking at him once more. "Anything come up with the baby, who should I call?"

"He's out of the woods, right?" Jax asked.

"Yeah," she assured him. "Just in case of procedural stuff."

Jax glanced around before waving his mother over. Elena barely kept from laughing out loud, knowing that this was the last thing that Tara wanted or expected when she pulled into Teller-Morrow.

"Just let my mom know if you need anything," Jax said.

"Everything okay?" Gemma asked, walking up to them.

The annoyance in her voice reflected Elena's feelings perfectly.

"Yeah, fine. She's just here to get her car fixed," he nodded, looking between the two women. "Actually, could you give Tara a ride home? She's gotta leave the Cutlass here."

"No, that's okay. I'll just take a…"

"I'd love to give the good doctor a lift," Gemma said, cutting her off. "Say hi to Uncle Jury for me."

There was a stressed sound to her voice that didn't escape their notice.

"I will," Jax nodded in response. "Relax, Mom. It's gonna be fine."

He leaned in to kiss her cheek before waving goodbye to Tara. Elena scooted back as he approached, holding his helmet out to him.

"You ready?" he asked.

She nodded in response, though there was a frown on her face.

"You don't like this, do you?" Jax said.

Elena sighed, tugging on the end of her long braid.

"I just don't like people making decisions for me," she finally said.

"I get that," he nodded, glancing back at her. "But at least one good thing is coming out of this."

She lifted an eyebrow, wondering what he meant.

"What's that?"

Jax grinned at her.

"You get to feel what it's really like to be on a bike."

* * *

Just as they drove away, Gemma walked towards the garage with Clay, their arms wrapped around each other.

"You sent him into Nevada?" she said.

"It was his idea. It's club business," Clay replied simply.

Gemma sighed heavily, shaking her head.

"He has a two-month old kid. He is distracted," she reminded her husband. "You have to protect him."

"Protect him? From what?" Clay scoffed.

"Himself," Gemma said simply.

He glanced down at her.

"He's fine. Relax," he assured her.

Gemma rolled her eyes, catching sight of Tara where she was signing papers for her car.

"Now, this one," she said.

"What's she doing here?" Clay asked.

"Anything she can to get close to Jax," she said, sounding completely unimpressed with the doctor.

He considered it for a moment before shrugging.

"Maybe she just needs a tune-up."

Gemma looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Didn't trust her then. Don't trust her now," she said before kissing him.

As she walked away, Gemma patted Tig's shoulder.

"Hey."

"Hey, Gemma," he said, giving her a smile. "Back it up, buster. Come on. Back it up."

Half-Sack did as he said, backing the car out of the garage.

"Whoa. Whoa!" Tig yelled.

He stopped, glancing in the rearview mirror before getting out. As the prospect watched Gemma walk away, a small smile formed on his face.

"I gotta admit…Clay's old lady gives me a serious MILF chubby," Half-Sack said to Tig.

The other man's eyes widened, glancing behind him. Half-Sack somehow knew who would be behind him before he turned. Clay didn't look pleased.

"Hey, I brought the car out of the garage. It's, uh…it's clear now. If you need me to clear it out again, I can…" he stammered his way through.

"Clip a truck from Unser's tonight. Make it look like you stole it. Cancer boy wants deniability," Clay said, ignoring Half-Sack as he talked to Tig.

He walked away without saying another word. Just as Clay was out of earshot, Tig reached over and smacked Half-Sack's arm.

"MILF chubby?" he hissed.

"It's like a compliment, you know? Cause she's hot…" Half-Sack said with a grimace, rubbing at his arm.

"Stop," Tig said, shaking his head before turning to walk away.

* * *

Elena couldn't help but smile, letting out a delighted laugh when Jax revved up again. He was right. It was quite something, going so fast on the bike. Her arms were wrapped tightly around his waist and, every once in a while, she would bury her face in the back of his cut to hold back her laughter. Bobby was next to them, likely shaking his head at their antics. Just when they crossed the border into Nevada, they heard the sound of other motorcycles. Elena peered over Jax's shoulder to see five of them headed their way. They weren't Sam Crow, that was for sure.

"What do we got?" Bobby yelled.

"Mayans!" Jax called back.

The other man shook his head.

"So much for low profile!"

Elena shrunk back when she saw one of the Mayans break off, driving straight towards them with a gun in his hand. Before he could fire, the man was forced to swerve away or hit one of them. She glanced over her shoulder, watching as three of the rival gang members turned around to follow the two bikes.

"There are three following us," she said to Jax, her voice shaking slightly.

He glanced over at Bobby questioningly.

"Two on three?"

Bobby nodded, looking confident as they both slowed down slightly. Elena's heart pounded in her chest and she held onto Jax even tighter. Suddenly they split far apart and both threw on the brakes stopping in place. Before she knew it, both Jax and Bobby had pulled their guns and were firing at the Mayans. Before the other men could stop, they realized that it was best not to fight here and decided to speed ahead. Both Bobby and Jax drove forward again, going even faster than before. This time when Elena pressed her face into the reaper on Jax's cut, she was not laughing. Once they realized that they weren't going to catch up with the Mayans, Jax and Bobby pulled into a gas station. Elena shakily unwound her hands, taking deep breaths as she tried to calm her still-racing heart. Jax put his hands on her cheeks, lifting her head to look in her eyes.

"You all right?" he asked.

She nodded quickly, not wanting to seem weak though her face must have been pale.

"Why are you going to Nevada again?" Elena asked quietly, sensing that it wasn't just a trip to see some old friends like they told her.

"Business," he said simply, turning to Bobby. "Give me the prepay."

Elena watched as he dialed on the prepaid phone, dismounting from the bike slowly.

"So, Mayans spotted us," Jax informed the other man.

"Well, this forces our hand," Clay sighed on the other end. "Can't risk bringing those AKs in, with the Mayans onto our visit. We need a bigger presence."

"Well, I'll have the Vegas boys head up," Jax offered.

There was a moment of silence before the other man spoke again.

"No, no. I'm talking about a permanent presence. It'll be months before the warehouse is up and running. Indian Hills could be real useful," Clay decided.

Jax's eyes widened at the words and he instantly realized what Clay was trying to say.

"You talking patch over?" he said, his words revealing his surprise. "I don't know, Clay. Tribe might've started outlaw, but now…I mean, shit, they're bookkeepers and bouncers."

"They're earnin' outlaw-size money. It's just a matter of time before the Mayans push 'em out," Clay said simply, refusing to be talked out of this. "They need us for their own protection."

Jax shook his head, annoyance coursing through him.

"Jury was a real good friend of my old man's, Clay. I don't feel right slamming a patch, no warning," he said warily.

"It's good for both clubs. Now, if you don't want to break it to 'em, I'll tell 'em myself at church," Clay said simply before hanging up the phone.

Jax let out a groan of frustration before handing the phone back to Bobby.

"Come on, let's get something to eat," he said, holding his hand out to Elena.

She took it without a second thought, allowing him to pull her into the convenience store.

* * *

Back at the garage, Clay was speaking to Tig and Juice. Half-Sack was in the room, steadily being ignored. It wasn't abnormal, due to his prospect status.

"We're ridin' to Indian Hills. Mandatory. We're patching over the Tribe," Clay informed them.

"Are you serious?" Tig asked

"Do I look serious?"

The sergeant-at-arms looked wary.

"We're short. I mean, Chibs, he's up north with McKeevy," Tig reminded him.

Clay nodded in agreemen before speaking.

"Anybody visiting?"

"Uh, Happy's down from Tacoma doing an autism run. He's got Lorca, Bowie, Donut, couple of prospects with him," Juice informed them.

"Get him."

Juice hurried out to call Happy.

"Okay, well…wow, Jury's got all those beautiful girls, man. It's gonna be a four-shot patch over party," Tig said with a grin.

Clay smirked at him.

"Unfortunately, you're driving the precious cargo," he said.

"No, no. Christ, Clay," he refused, shaking his head. "Come on. You need me."

Clay reached out, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey. Hey. Last time you had free range on pussy, you throat-pumped two brownies. Your DNA almost brought us down," he reminded Tig. "Besides, you're the only one I can trust to handle this."

Tig glowered at him, looking more than a little displeased.

"Come on! Hauling barrels? Let the prospect go with Juice!"

Clay looked at him with a frown.

"What prospect?"

As he turned to walk out, leaving a pouting Tig, Half-Sack looked pained, realizing that he'd made a big mistake in what he said about Gemma.

* * *

Jax was right. After eating a bag of chips and drinking a bottle of orange juice, Elena felt much better. She walked out between Bobby and Jax, hoping that they didn't come across any more Mayans on the way to their destination.

"Which one is it?" a woman's voice floated to them as they turned the corner.

Elena's eyes widened when she saw a man sitting on Jax's bike. Judging by the way that both he and Bobby tensed beside her, this guy was about to have a bad day.

"Are you an idiot? Take the picture," the man snapped.

"Can't find the button. Sorry," the woman said apologetically, looking at the phone with confusion.

"Here. Let me do it," Jax said, reaching out his hand.

The woman turned to face them and her eyes went wide.

"Holy shit. I told him not to sit on your bike," she said, looking like a deer in the headlights.

Elena's eyes narrowed the cut on her lip and fading bruise on her cheek. She didn't have to question where it came from, knowing that the guy sitting on the bike was likely the cause.

"That's all right," Jax assured her, turning to look at the man. "You look like a guy knows how to get his way. You do that to her lip?"

He shrugged, looking perfectly comfortable where he was.

"Bitch has a mouth on her, you know?"

"Sure. I get it," Jax said.

The man looked triumphant, unable to see the flash of anger in both of the bikers' eyes.

"So you like Harleys, huh?" Bobby asked.

"Yeah. They look good," he nodded in response, glancing down at Jax's bike. "But I'm way into the slant bikes for their speed, you know?"

Jax smirked, looking as though he barely kept from rolling his eyes.

"Right. Right," he said, glancing back at Elena to give her a look. "All right. Say cheese."

Just as they took the picture, she stepped towards the woman and touched her elbow gently.

"Come here," Elena whispered, tugging her away quickly.

The woman followed willingly, looking torn between confusion and panic.

"That's before," Bobby said, taking the phone to glance at the picture that Jax took.

"Before?" the man said, clearly confused.

Suddenly, Jax seized his helmet where it was sitting on the handle of the bike and slammed it across the other man's face. He fell to the ground, sputtering and choking as he clutched at his bleeding nose.

"Don't ever sit on another man's bike, asshole," Jax said furiously.

"Holy shit," the woman next to Elena said, her hands over her mouth.

"Shut up, bitch!" he shouted.

Bobby reared back, kicking him in the stomach. Elena couldn't help but smile slightly, knowing that the man was getting exactly what he deserved.

"A little respect for the fairer sex," Bobby said, crouching down next to him.

He took a picture, zeroed in on the man's bleeding face.

"That's after," Jax said as Bobby tossed the phone onto his chest.

Elena turned to the woman, giving her a sad smile.

"You shouldn't stay with him," she said.

The woman simply glanced away, the look in her eyes making it clear that she wouldn't leave the asshole. Elena climbed on the bike behind Jax, wishing that there was something else that she could do. As they drove towards the exit of the gas station, Jax reached back gently and squeezed her thigh.

"You all right?" he asked.

"I just don't understand it," she admitted, shaking her head as she watched the women help her abusive boyfriend up. "Why does she stay with him?"

He sighed, glancing over his shoulder at her.

"Because the world just fucking sucks sometimes," Jax said simply.

Elena couldn't help but agree.

* * *

As the rest of the Charming charter, as well as Happy and his guys, gathered in the parking lot, Gemma came out to see them off.

"I'll see you in a couple of days," Clay said, glancing up at her once he was settled on his bike.

"All right," she sighed, leaning over to kiss him. "Call me. Let me know he's okay."

He gave her an exasperated look that had her eyebrows lifting.

"Look, you know I'll drive out there. How embarrassing would that shit be?" Gemma threatened.

"I'll call. I'll call," Clay said, holding his hands up in surrender before kissing her once more.

She stood back with a still-glowering Tig, watching as the dozens of bikes drove out of the lot towards the Nevada border.

* * *

When they pulled up to the clubhouse, Elena climbed off of the bike, stretching out as she made a satisfied noise. Her eyes went to the flag hanging on the wall of the building, her eyes flickering over the words, **Devil's Tribe**.

"Intimidating," she muttered.

Just as the door opened, Jax put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her in close to his body.

"Just don't ask any questions, okay? I'll let 'em know you're with me," he said quietly.

Elena barely resisted the urge to smack him in the arm at his words.

"With you?" she said in a low, dangerous voice, looking up at him.

"Trust me," Jax said, looking at her with a slightly pleading gaze.

She huffed out a sigh before nodding once.

"Jackson Teller!" an older man yelled, spreading his arms out.

"Uncle Jury!"

Jax stepped away from Elena to embrace this Jury, a wide grin on his face. Another man walked out as well, younger and slightly amused.

"You guys remember Bobby," Jax said, nodding at his brother.

"Bobby," Jury nodded, pulling him into a hug.

Bobby moved to the side and embraced the other man as well.

"Needles, how you been?"

"Bobby," Needles replied, patting him on the back.

Jax reached back for Elena's hand and she reluctantly let him take it.

"This is Elena," he introduced her simply.

Jury looked her up and down, looking torn between being impressed and confused.

"Come on in," he said, tilting his head towards the door.

Once they walked inside, Elena felt the eyes of everyone in the place on them. Suddenly, she wished that she was back in Charming. Even there she didn't feel like she was on show.

"MC Royalty in the house, folks!" Jury announced proudly. "Jax Teller and Bobby Elvis of the Sons! Let's make 'em feel at home."

Elena stood back as Jax and Bobby both embraced several men. She bit down on her bottom lip, avoiding anyone's gaze. She followed Jax and Jury as they moved towards the bar, messing with the zipper on her jacket.

"That your old lady?" she heard the older man ask.

He sounded slightly suspicious, like he noticed that she didn't quite fit in.

"Nah, a friend of the family under the club's protection. She's with me for this trip, as far as anyone knows," Jax said truthfully.

Elena felt a tug on her hand and walked forward, giving them both a small smile.

"Cherry!" Jury called.

Another woman walked forward automatically as if she was expecting the call. She couldn't have been more than four or five years older than Elena.

"This honey is with Jax. Make her welcome, darlin'," Jury instructed.

Elena looked over at him with a slightly annoyed look at the word 'honey' but didn't say anything.

"Sure thing," Cherry nodded, sliding her arm through Elena's. "Come on, sweetheart."

Just as she glanced back at Jax, he nodded encouragingly.

"See you," he said.

Elena didn't reply, turning forward with a sigh.

"Don't worry. I won't hurt you. We're just gonna make you fit in a little better," Cherry assured her.

"Fit in?" she said with uncertainty.

* * *

Back at the bar, both Jax and Jury were drinking beers as they talked business.

"So how are we gonna handle the Mayans?" Jury asked.

"We're hoping actually maybe you could help us out with a problem," Jax replied, regretting what he was about to have to tell the old man.

"Sure," he nodded.

Jax pulled out his pack of cigarettes, offering one to Jury before lighting up his own.

"We got a garage full of AK-47 s. Need a place to assemble and store 'em till we find a buyer. It's a temporary thing," he said.

Jury thought about it for a moment before making a decision.

"We got a strip club out on 95. Huge basement. Private," he suggested.

"Sounds perfect. Appreciate it," Jax said.

"You'll talk to Clay? Let me know how to handle this Mayan thing?" Jury asked, sounding almost desperate.

He hesitated before replying.

"You can talk to him yourself. He's on his way," Jax finally said.

"Clay's coming out?" the older man said, his eyebrows lifting out of surprise.

"Yup," Jax confirmed with a nod. "It's about the future, Jury."

"Future of what?" he said, sounding suspicious.

"The Tribe."

Jury let out a heavy sigh, shaking his head.

"Jesus, Jax. Patch over?" he said, grimacing.

"It's time, Jury. This whole area is blowing up. We don't patch you over, Mayans will run right through you," Jax said, backing up the words even though he didn't quite agree with them. "We get a foothold in Nevada. You get status to protect your business. Best move for both clubs."

Jury glanced around the bar.

"A lot of my guys aren't Sam Crow."

Jax did the same, unable to keep himself from agreeing

"The ones that are cut out for it will make it. Others will fall off," he said confidently.

"I'm not a young man anymore either, Jax. I don't know how much outlaw I got left in me," Jury said, looking back at him.

"You'll do fine, Jury," he said, reaching out to pat his arm.

* * *

"What exactly are we doing?" Elena asked.

"Don't worry," Cherry replied, sitting her down in a chair.

They were back in a bedroom that she assumed was Cherry's. The music from the bar was a quiet hum where they were.

"I went to beauty school. I know what I'm doing," the other woman said.

Elena bit down on her lip as she pulled the band out of her braid and combed her fingers through the dark, wavy strands.

"I'm thinking layers…and maybe streaks."

She shook her head.

"You can cut it or whatever but I like the color," Elena said, touching her hand to her hair.

Truthfully, it reminded her of Miranda. They had the same hair color even though she now knew that Miranda was never her biological mother. Elena wanted to keep that reminder.

"Okay," Cherry shrugged, pulling out a towel and a pair of styling scissors. "Go wet your hair. I'll find an outfit for you."

She didn't exactly know why she was doing what Cherry said, but Elena didn't argue. Sometimes it was just better to go along with things. Besides, she'd been thinking about getting a new hairstyle for a while now. The long boring one was getting old.

"So, uh, how long have you been that guy's old lady?" Cherry asked when she walked back out with damp hair wrapped in the towel.

"I'm not. We just met a couple of months ago," Elena answered, knowing that she was talking about Jax.

She nodded in response, sitting her back down again.

"Yeah. That's what I thought," Cherry replied, pulling the towel away before combing her hair out. "You better pay close attention to what I do, baby girl."

Elena almost wanted to inform her that she had no real intention to become an old lady but she held her tongue, not wanting to insult her.

"Whose old lady are you?" she asked.

"Hmm. No one's yet. But soon, one of these guys will realize what a fine old lady I'm gonna make," Cherry said with a smile, sounding really hopeful.

Elena couldn't help but smile in return. Unlike some of the crow-eaters in Charming, Cherry actually seemed nice and like she wouldn't immediately hate Elena for being close with the bikers.

"How long have you been doing it?" she questioned.

"It's about three years," Cherry sighed before taking the scissors to her head.

* * *

As Jax sat outside, handing a beer over to Bobby, he let out a deep sigh.

"You and Jury get into it?" Bobby questioned.

"Yeah," Jax said, taking a long swig of his bottle. "He didn't see it coming."

The other man didn't reply, simply taking a drink as well.

"I don't know if the old man's gonna be able to hang a reaper on his back," Jax said, shaking his head. "This shit don't feel good to me, Bobby. Clay's making a mistake. The Tribe ain't SOA Material."

Bobby looked over at him, frowning slightly.

"You all right, brother?"

"Yeah. Why?" Jax said, looking back at him.

"Just checkin' in. You've been through a lot of shit in the last couple of weeks. Baby, junkie. Maybe all that noise in your head has gotten you turned around a bit."

Jax scowled at the words.

"Noise in my head?" he said, looking at Bobby with an unimpressed glance. "You got something to say, man, just say it."

"You've been second-guessing Clay ever since your boy was born," Bobby said simply. "The club's pickin' up on it. You gotta get right with that."

Jax didn't say anything else, just glowering across the parking lot as he finished his beer. Just as the sun began to set, Clay showed up with his parade of bikers, all pulling into the parking lot noisily.

* * *

"What do you think?" Cherry said, looking at her hopefully.

Elena stared in the mirror with wide eyes surrounded by dark liner. The other woman was a good stylist, she had to admit. She lifted her hand, running it through her new hair slowly. The outfit she wore was all black. Gemma probably would have approved. Her plum lipstick looked better than she ever thought that it could.

"It's different," Elena admitted, glancing over at Cherry.

She looked slightly uncertain, like she was afraid that Elena didn't like it.

"It's good," she rushed to assure her.

Cherry grinned, throwing an arm around her shoulders.

"You look great. Let's go show you off now," she suggested.

Elena looked at her hesitantly, not sure she wanted to be paraded around.

"After the meeting, I mean," Cherry sighed, glancing at the door.

"Meeting?" she asked, confused.

The other female nodded in response.

"The rest of Sam Crow got here a few minutes ago. Daytona told me when she came in with your heels. I think something big is going down. They're meeting with the Tribe right now," Cherry said, walking to the door as if to listen for anyone speaking.

Elena did the same, slipping past her to open it slightly. Sure enough, she could hear the muffled sound of Clay speaking.

"I didn't know they were coming," she said, wondering what was happening.

"You want to hear?" Cherry asked, a small smile forming on her face.

She glanced at her before nodding. They snuck out of the room, hiding at the very end of the hallway to hear every word.

* * *

All eyes were on Clay as he stood behind Jury, talking to the room at large,

"Next time this gavel slams down will be the last for the Devil's Tribe," he said, holding up Jury's gavel before handing it back to him. "There's history between our clubs. Jury and John Teller were in the same platoon in Nam. Needle's brother's a twenty-year member of our Fresno charter. We have a deep respect for each other."

Men around the room nodded in agreement, though some looked apprehensive and even angry.

"Now…it's time to become brothers. I know some of you look forward to wearing the reaper. Others of you are afraid of it. That's a choice each man will have to make. From this point on, we're family. Indian Hills, Nevada charter…Sons of Anarchy."

Jax held up a black leather cut with the reaper on the back, as well as an Indian Hills patch beneath it.

"Congratulations," Clay said, nodding around at them. "It is my personal hope that every one of you wears this cut."

He glanced down at Jury, patting the other man's shoulder.

"I know you got a lot to talk about. I'll leave you to your business."

* * *

Jax sat outside on his bike next to Clay, lighting up a cigarette as he considered the situation going on inside of the building.

"How do you think this thing will play out?" he asked.

"Half, maybe more will stay," the older man answered. "And that pack will thin out once the Mayans come a-knockin'. Which will be real soon."

He shook his head, feeling disturbed about this entire thing.

"We can't leave these guys with no backup. Vegas can hang," Jax suggested.

"Indian Hills is gonna have to learn how to protect their ground. Best way to thin out a herd," Clay said, glancing at the Devil's Tribe symbol on the outside of the building.

"Herd's already pretty thin, Clay," he reminded him, looking his way with a frown. "I want to be here for Jury when the shit goes down."

The president shook his head, pulling out a cigar.

"I ain't worried about Jury. He can handle himself," he said confidently.

Before Jax could say anything else to argue, the door to the clubhouse opened and a few men came out.

"Can you believe that?" one of them muttered, shooting the gathered Sons a glare.

Another threw his cut down before stalking towards his bike.

"Looks like the vote's in, huh?" Clay said.

* * *

When the Devil's Tribe finished voting, the women were called into the room. Cherry and Elena tried to look as though they weren't spying but Needles wasn't fooled, actually looking amused at their actions. They walked into the main room of the bar, leaning against the doorway as the Sons walked back in. Elena noticed that several men were missing, unsurprised after hearing the heated debate over whether to vote to patch in with Sam Crow. Silence hung in the air as everyone waited for Jury to announce the obvious decision that they'd come to.

"We're in."

Several men behind him murmured in agreement and Elena glanced over at Cherry as Jax put a Sam Crow cut on Jury. Clay ripped down the Tribe's banner before spray painting the Sons of Anarchy symbol where it once was. Cherry looked around with a look of consideration, almost looking wary of what was happening. Everyone in the room cheered when Clay embraced Jury, closely followed by Jax.

"Patch over party!" Happy shouted, causing even more cheers to fill the room.

Elena didn't take her eyes off of Jax, noting the small look of displeasure on his face. He wasn't very happy about this and she didn't know why.

"What's a patch over?" she questioned, already having suspicions about what was happening.

"It means things are about to change," Cherry said, glancing around the room. "Come on."

She tugged her towards the bar, grabbing two beers for them. Elena perched on the edge of a stool, suddenly feeling more uncertain about what she was wearing. It looked more like something Katherine would put on than her.

"I told you," Cherry said, leaning in.

"Told me what?" Elena asked, looking over at her with a questioning glance.

The other female simply directed her eyes away pointedly and Elena followed the gesture, catching sight of Jax walking up to them.

"I'll just slip off," Cherry said, winking at her before walking off.

Elena felt her cheeks flushing as Jax approached, looking her up and down with raised eyebrows.

"You look…"

"Ridiculous, I know," Elena huffed, tugging at the lace shirt. "Cherry told me that it looks good but I feel just like a little girl playing dress up in her big sister's closet."

He shook his head, a smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth.

"I was going to say that you look amazing," Jax corrected her.

Elena stared at him with disbelief before a slow smile formed on her face. Before either of them could say anything, the sound of Jax's name floated across the room over the loud music. He turned to see Jury and Needles waving him over.

"I gotta go," he said, turning back to face her. "Come find me later, yeah?"

His fingers skimmed over the back of her hand as he spoke and she found herself nodding automatically. Jax gave her a grin before turning to walk off. Elena turned back around with a small smile, taking a long drink of her beer.

"Tequila shots?" the bartender asked, sliding a shot glass over to her. "Compliments of just about everyone in the room."

She knew that he was likely flirting with her but she paid him no mind, picking up the small glass.

"Sure," Elena said, tossing it back before slamming the shot glass on the bar.

Once she'd had a few shots and her body was buzzing wonderfully, Elena stood up and caught sight of Cherry gazing at someone across the room. Her eyes followed the straight line to Half-Sack, who was trying to be sneaky about looking back at her from beneath his eyelashes. She shook her head, smiling at how cute they were. Elena marched straight up to Cherry, grabbing her hand before tugging her across the bar.

"Half-Sack, Cherry. Cherry, Half-Sack," she introduced them, earning grateful smiles from both. "Enjoy."

Elena turned away, feeling accomplished as she did so. When she heard them start talking behind her, her smile widened and she nodded triumphantly. Her eyes fell on Jax, who was sitting on a leather couch by himself with a focused and not too happy expression, Elena gathered two beers from the bar before walking over to him.

"You okay?" she asked, perching on the armrest next to him.

He looked up at her, his face softening. Jax took the beer before setting it aside. He wrapped an arm around Elena's waist, pulling her down into his lap. She gasped lightly, not quite tipsy enough to completely lose her mind. She stared at him with wide eyes, her mouth open in a perfect 'o' shape. Jax simply pulled her to lean against his chest, lifting his beer again to drink from it. They were suddenly accompanied by Happy and Bobby, as well as a few guys from the new Nevada charter of the Sons. Elena relaxed slowly, the tension draining out of her as she found that she was comfortable where she was.

"I could get used to this," she said quietly where only Jax could hear as she laid her head on his shoulder.

The other men were wrapped up in conversation, not paying them much attention. Bobby's eyes flickered over a few times but he didn't seem to care too much. Jax smiled in response, his hand squeezing her hip lightly.

"Let's just take it one night at a time," he suggested just as quietly.

Elena didn't bother to point out that they were falling for their own charade. It felt too good to ruin it. When she caught sight of Cherry and Half-Sack slow dancing, she smiled happily. That was shattered when she saw Clay interrupt their dance, taking Cherry into his own arms. Her stomach churned at the sight of them dancing for a few moments before the president of Sam Crow took her hand and began pulling her toward the rooms in the back. It was far too clear where they were going, making her feel sick. Jax felt the tension returning to her body and glanced around the room to see what was bothering her.

Just as he caught sight of what Clay was doing, Elena stood abruptly. Part of her wanted to march after Clay and give him a piece of her mind for so many reasons. Instead she walked straight for the door, pushing it open to step out into the warm night air. She took a deep breath, closing her eyes for a moment before walking towards the bikes. It was easy to pick Jax's out now, though she didn't move to stand beside it.

"You all right?" he asked from behind her.

She turned around quickly, looking at him with disbelief for the second time that night, though it was for an entirely different reason.

"How are you? You just saw Clay basically cheating on your mother," Elena said, her voice betraying her upset.

Jax sighed, rubbing his hand over his jaw.

"It's part of the life," he finally said.

Elena stared at him for a few moments, trying to figure out what he meant by the words.

"The life?" she asked.

"This is a run. What happens on a run stays on a run," Jax said, stepping closer to her.

She scoffed, feeling somewhat sobered by the thoughts whirling through her head. Elena shook her head, looking up at the dark sky.

"You guys really do just make up your own rules as you go along, don't you?" she sighed.

"What?" Jax said, sounding slightly confused.

She looked at him once more, letting out a laugh that held no amusement.

"What Clay did…is doing? It's disgusting!"

"It's just a normal thing for us," Jax said, pulling out a pack of cigarettes.

Elena fought the urge to knock them from his hand.

"In the real world, we call that adultery! We call it cheating! It's a disgraceful, disrespectful, completely horrible thing to do!" she said, aware that her voice was getting rather high-pitched.

Jax stared at her with surprise, a cigarette halfway to his mouth.

"Don't tell me that it doesn't bother you. It's your mother that Clay is betraying. It's their marriage that he's putting aside to sleep with a girl thirty years his junior. It's revolting!"

He sighed heavily, shaking his head.

"It doesn't make me happy, Elena. But I got no right to tell Clay or anyone else where to put his dick, or to not put it in this case."

She let out a noise of disgust, rolling her eyes.

"Gemma knows?" she asked.

"It's a part of life. Gemma is aware. She doesn't ask questions," Jax informed her.

Elena turned away, her hands on her hips as she walked back and forth in front of him.

"If that were me, I would never ever put up with it. If any guy ever, _ever_ cheats on me, it's done. I'm walking away," she ranted, feeling so utterly furious on Gemma's behalf, and on Cherry's for being used that way.

"Well no one in their right mind would cheat on you," Jax scoffed.

She looked at him with surprise, her anger forgotten for the moment.

"What?" Elena said.

He realized what he said, looking back at her as he lit up his cigarette.

"A guy be a fool to leave your bed, much less seek out someone else's," Jax shrugged, finishing his thought.

Despite her frustration with the club's unspoken rules, Elena found herself smiling at his words. He looked relieved, as if he thought that saying that would make her even angrier.

"Is that a really subtle way of telling me that you think I'd be good in bed?" she asked, arching an eyebrow at him.

Jax grinned, his eyes sparkling in the dim moonlight.

"I wasn't really trying to be that subtle," he replied cheekily.

Elena couldn't help herself, letting out a soft laugh as she turned towards his bike. She walked to it, knowing that he was close behind her.

"So…is everyone forbidden from sitting on your bike, or am I allowed?" Elena asked, referring to the earlier incident at the gas station as she turned back to face him.

"I think I've made my stance on that pretty clear. You're welcome on my ride any time," Jax said, the innuendo clear in his voice.

She gave him a narrow-eyed look before sitting down on the leather seat, both of her legs on one side.

"I guess I'm not supposed to tell Gemma then," Elena sighed, going back to the previous topic.

Jax shook his head.

"Trust me, Gemma would be the most pissed out of anybody if you told her," he assured her.

Somehow, Elena felt that he was exactly right.

"I don't like this, Jax," she admitted.

"I couldn't tell, you didn't make it clear enough," he said jokingly, sitting a few feet away on a concrete half-wall.

She looked up at him with an unimpressed look.

"This shit has just never been a part of my life," Elena continued.

Jax reached out, taking her hand in his before tugging on it lightly.

"No one expects you to adjust quickly, or at all, really. You are new to all of this and you could still forget it all and leave if you wanted. No one would blame you for that. This is some crazy shit and even people who have been in it their whole lives have a hard time dealing with it sometimes," he said convincingly.

She sighed, stepping between his spread legs. Her other hand came up, curling into his long hair.

"Would you do it? Cheat on your old lady?" Elena asked.

Part of her wondered if she should have even been asking this. After all, there was a good chance that she wouldn't like the answer.

"I want an old lady that I don't ever want to stop thinking about. I don't want to even consider going to anyone else because I want her to be the one. If there's anything less than that between us, she shouldn't be my old lady," Jax said, looking up at her with complete honesty shining in his eyes.

Elena felt warmth building in her chest at his words, her heart fluttering lightly. She stroked her other hand through his hair before leaning down slowly. Jax's hands went to her hips before one splayed across her back, inching higher to urge her down quicker. Her eyes closed just as their lips met. They stayed like that for a moment, just relishing in the touch of lips before Jax stood up abruptly, breaking them apart. Elena looked up at him with wide eyes, wondering what she did wrong.

"Was that…bad?" she asked.

He shook his head, looking almost hungry as his eyes flickered down to her lips. Then they were kissing again, more deeply this time. Jax's hand wove through her soft hair as her arms snaked around his neck. His other hand bunched the lace fabric of her shirt up before slipping beneath it, touching at the bare skin that her bralette showed off. She shivered before biting down on his lower lip lightly. He groaned, opening his mouth before sweeping his tongue over her lips. They were kissing passionately soon, pressed so close together that there was nothing else in the world at the moment. It was just the two of them, kissing forever.

Elena didn't have to push herself up to continue kissing him, thanking every deity out there for the heels that she was wearing. They finally had to pull away, both gasping for breath. They stared up at each other with wide eyes, trying to figure out what just happened. Finally, their faces broke out in grins before they moved closer to each other once more, determined to continue what they were doing. Neither Elena nor Jax were aware of the car parked across the street, the driver of which was taking pictures of their every movement.

* * *

When she woke, Elena stretched out with a small sigh before realizing that she wasn't alone in the bed. The quick moment of panic that overwhelmed her was relieved when she realized that she still had on too many clothes for anything to have happened. The lace shirt had been discarded at some point but she was still wearing the black bralette and the black jeans. She turned over slowly just as Jax's eyes opened. He stared at her with surprise for a moment before his eyes softened. A slight smile formed on his face that she couldn't help but reciprocate.

"I don't remember how we got in here," Elena whispered, her cheeks flushing at her confession.

Jax reached over, entwining his fingers through hers.

"I think a lot of alcohol was involved. Mostly tequila, if I remember it right," he said.

Elena let out a small laugh, ducking her head as she recalled exactly what he was talking about.

"I remember some other things," she said quietly, glancing back up at him through her lashes. "Something about a parking lot and…"

She didn't get to finish, as he leaned in to press his lips to hers. Elena sighed, curling her fingers into his hair as he held her close. His fingers brushed over the bare skin of her abdomen, causing her to shiver and deepen the kiss. When they broke apart, Elena exhaled sharply, letting her forehead drop to his shoulder.

"What are we doing?" she said, every reason for this not to happen running through her head.

Jax reached down, lifting her chin so that she would look into his eyes.

"I'm trying not to over think it," he said simply.

Elena shook her head, wondering how that was possible. They'd only known each other for a couple of months. She had a history with too much blood and his was basically the same. He had a son in the hospital and an ex-wife in rehab. Elena's ex-boyfriend was on a murder spree with the thousand-year-old hybrid that killed her. Jax belonged to a vengeful motorcycle gang filled with ex-cons. She had every excuse in the world to end this right here and now. Sensing that she was going far past over thinking it, Jax leaned in to kiss her lightly.

"It's not something that we have to figure out right now. We're just doing what feels good and there is nothing wrong with that," he said.

"I've never done anything like that before. I don't just…do what feels good without thinking about the consequences," Elena said warily.

"Try it out. I promise it's fun," Jax said with a grin.

"That really isn't like me," Elena warned him.

He gave her a doubtful look.

"I think I saw some of the you that you have hidden away last night. You were having fun and you didn't care about anything else. Why can't you do that without the influence of alcohol?" Jax questioned.

She considered it for a moment, realizing that he might have been right. Elena had no idea what she felt for this man but would she really let so much get between them? Jax was right. It felt good, almost right in a way. She took a deep breath, banishing all thoughts of why it was wrong out of her mind. As if he sensed her change of mind, he smiled and nodded triumphantly.

"I'm going to go for a ride to clear my head. You should go back to sleep," he said, backing away.

As he stood up, Elena realized that it was only seven in the morning. She sat up, yawning as she realized that she was still a little bit tired.

"Jax?" Elena said, watching as he pulled a black hoodie over his head.

"Hmm?" he replied, glancing over at her.

She considered her words carefully before speaking.

"Thanks for not sleeping with me last night. I know that I might have been…well, I know how I get when I'm drunk. I may have been an easy lay but you didn't do anything. I really appreciate that."

He answered her words with a simply smile, unable to resist leaning down to kiss her once more.

"You're not one of those girls," Jax said, tilting his head towards the door. "I'm not going to treat you like one."

Elena felt her heart swell at his words. Even though, after meeting Cherry, she was certain that those girls weren't so bad, she still liked that he treated her with respect and didn't expect sex out of her.

"Have fun on your ride," she said, giving him a soft smile.

"I'll try. Don't kick Clay's ass while I'm gone," Jax said, ruffling her already messy hair before turning to walk out.

At the reminder of what the president of Sam Crow did the night before, Elena's face darkened and she laid back with a heavy sigh. It was a difficult thing to deal with, her conscience fighting with her common sense over whether or not to just forget what she saw or to tell Gemma what happened. She drifted back into sleep while considering what to do and she still didn't know what her decision was.

* * *

When she finally got up, Elena threw on the jeans that she came in along with the brown boots and a white t-shirt of Jax's. She tied it up at her hip before walking out of the room. Once she made her way to the main room of the clubhouse, she saw most of Sam Crow awake and in there. Tig was pouting, apparently having just arrived. He missed the party, something that she remembered the other guys laughing about. Now he looked pissed off at everyone around him. Elena caught sight of Cherry sitting at a table giving Half-Sack quick glances when he wasn't looking.

"Morning, Cherry," she sighed, walking over.

"Morning," the other woman said, brightening up slightly. "Do you want some coffee? Grab some breakfast?"

She nodded in response, realizing how hungry she was.

"I thought you liked Kip," Elena said, following her into the kitchen.

"I do," Cherry sighed.

Elena frowned, shaking her head. She still didn't understand.

"Well, then why'd you sleep with Clay?"

Cherry glanced over at her with a partly sad look on her face.

"Cause that's what we do," she shrugged.

"You mean, you just sleep with whoever they tell you to?" Elena scoffed.

Cherry nodded in response, pouring them both a cup of coffee before handing one over to her. Elena picked up the cream and sugar, fixing up the hot liquid before taking a sip.

"I take care of them, and they take care of me. It's a family," Cherry informed her, handing over a donut as well.

Elena took a bite, still not convinced that it was a good arrangement.

"And when I finally hook up, I'll belong to that guy and that guy only," the other woman said, a dreamy look on her face. "See, good old ladies, they can make or break a club. Maybe you'll figure that out one day."

She flushed slightly, remembering all of the kissing that happened that morning. Elena wasn't stupid enough to think that she and Jax were suddenly together forever. But she did like the idea of being the only girl who rode on his bike. For some reason, Abel's doctor suddenly popped in her head. Elena frowned, reminding herself that Tara was Jax's ex. She couldn't help but wonder if the older woman used to dream about the same thing.

* * *

Tara was confused to say the least when her doorbell rang and she opened her front door to see Gemma standing there.

"Hi," she said, her brow furrowing.

"Car's ready," Gemma said, holding up the keys. "Figured you'd need it for work."

"Oh. Yeah," Tara nodded, watching as the other woman stepped inside. "You drove it here?"

"I'm thinking that me and you got off to a bad start. It's my way of saying sorry."

She still wasn't convinced, watching her peruse the house around her.

"That's nice of you. Thanks," Tara said hesitantly.

"Wow. Your dad was serious about his clutter," Gemma said, looking around with a raised eyebrow.

"Workin' through a room at a time," she replied.

Jax's mom stepped closer to the mantle, catching sight of her mom and dad's wedding picture

"Oh, wow. Your dad was real handsome. Kinda nuts, but cute," Gemma commented.

"Yeah. Why are you here, Gemma?"

The other woman looked at her innocently.

"Your car," Gemma said simply.

"Yeah, the Good Samaritan bit's not really playing," Tara said with a shake of her head. "What do you want?"

Gemma exhaled deeply, picking up an antique candle holder.

"You left Charming because it was incestuous, backward, and small-minded. That's pretty much an exact quote. I don't forget," she said, turning to face Tara. "You leave Chicago to come back to this- shit-filled house, mediocre gig at a community hospital."

"I needed to tie up family business," she said.

The other woman looked skeptical.

"People don't upend their lives to pack up a dead relative's house."

Tara tilted her head to the side, stepping closer.

"You seem to be spending a lot of time and energy worrying about my life. Do I scare you that much?" she asked.

"I don't forget," Gemma repeated. "I'm not worried about you. Just the people you touch. Jax is in a real strange place. He doesn't need any outside voices in his head. Stay clear of him."

She scoffed, shaking her head.

"We're not nineteen years old anymore. You can't dictate what he does, who he sees…"

"I'm his mother," Gemma interrupted her. "And until I am dead and cold,I am gonna do anything I have to do to protect him."

She gave her a smile full of false friendliness before brushing past her to walk out. Tara stared after her for a few moments, wondering what Gemma possibly wanted to achieve from this visit. All that she intended to be at the moment was one of Abel's doctors. She couldn't help but wonder if something was going on with Jax. Was something pulling him away from the club? Could it be her? The image of the brunette who had visited the hospital with both Jax and Gemma went through her head. She was young and pretty, though she had a strong mind and voice, from what Tara could see. From personal experience, she knew that was exactly Jax's type. A mixed feeling of slight annoyance and jealousy went through her at the thought.

* * *

"Any problems?" Clay asked Juice.

The other man shook his head

"Well, truck's out back. It's all good," Juice assured him.

Clay glanced past to him to Tig, who was glaring at the wall with a beer in one hand.

"He still pouting?"

"Who, Tiggy?" Bobby grumbled without lifting his aching head. "Why don't you give him the sweetbutt?"

Clay shook his head, glancing over at where Elena was talking with the other girl at a table across the room.

"Nah, I'm good with Half-Sack. That score's settled," he said, noticing the hostile look he received from Elena when she caught him looking.

Before he could think too much of it, his phone rang in his pocket.

"Where the hell are you?" Clay demanded, standing up.

"Yeah. Looks like Jury's gonna have some backup when the Mayan shit goes down," Jax said, his words skipping out every few syllables.

"What are you talking about?"

The vice-president sighed on the other end of the phone.

"I'm on my way back, and I'm not alone," Jax warned.

Clay realized exactly what he was saying, closing the phone with a curse.

"Mayans!"

"Where?" Tig said, jumping up.

"Pack of 'em trailing Jax," Clay answered, looking at Juice. "Get rid of the goddamn truck."

"Got it," he nodded, hurrying out.

Jury hurried up with a few of his guys behind him.

"Mayans? What do you want to do?"

"Weapons behind the bar," he said.

"Pack it up!" Jury shouted.

Across the room, Cherry jumped up and began ushering the other girls out.

"Let's go. Let's get out," she said.

Elena began helping her, getting the girls out of the clubhouse and across the street where they wouldn't be in any danger.

"You want to stay here?" Cherry asked.

It only took a split second for her to make her decision.

"I'll help," she said, hurrying back across the street with her.

As soon as they ran inside, Cherry led her to the bar where Jury was loading a semi-automatic weapon.

"What can we do?" Cherry asked.

"Girls all gone?" Jury questioned, glancing over at them.

He looked almost surprised to see Elena there as well. She swallowed hard, trying to look as confident as she could. They both nodded in response.

"Open up the garage," he instructed, turning to look at the guys who weren't doing anything. "Move the bikes inside!"

They went outside to help wheel the bikes into the garage so that they wouldn't be damaged. Elena stopped when she heard the roar of motorcycles, turning around to see Jax coming in the distance, about ten Mayans on his tail.

"Shit," she muttered before hurrying back into the bar with Cherry.

"Everybody got a weapon?" Clay shouted.

All of the guys nodded and shouted that they did. Just as Jury and Tig opened the doors to let Jax drive straight inside, Elena was dragged down by Cherry to hide behind the bar. It didn't take long for the gunfire to start, piercing the thin walls of the club. Luckily, the thick wood of the bar protected them. Elena still ducked her head, clenching Cherry's hand in her own. When the rest of the combined clubs came around the building across the street and took the Mayans by surprise, the gunfire was not aimed at the clubhouse anymore. Jax, Clay, and the others poured out to join the firefight. They both waited with bated breath until it all ended, the sound of motorcycles pulling away letting them know that the Mayans decided to leave before losing any of their ranks.

Down the street, positioned where he could see everything, Agent Kohn lowered his binoculars with wide eyes at the mayhem before him. He came here to get a few shots of Sam Crow, not to see a firefight between rivaling gangs.

"Jesus Christ!"

* * *

Elena sat in a corner with Cherry, both sipping on water as they watched Jury talk with a police officer about what just happened. Jax glanced over from where he was standing with Clay and Bobby, hesitating before walking over.

"You all right?" he asked, reaching out to touch her shoulder.

Elena nodded, reaching up to wrap her fingers around his wrist.

"You?" she asked, slightly concerned.

"Yeah, we're all good. Only a couple guys got hit but they're headed to the hospital and they'll be all right," Jax assured her. "I got a text from Gemma in all that shit. It's safe for you to head back to Charming, according to whoever her sources are."

She nodded in response before silently motioning to Clay so that Jax could see that he was being called back over. He walked off just as Jury finished with the cop.

"Cleared his book debt. We're good," he said, looking between Clay and Jax. "What happens now? I'm probably gonna lose a couple more guys cause of this."

"Well, there won't be another hit for a while. That pop off was just about dick size. They want to let us know they're watching," Clay answered.

"Vegas'll stick around for a while," Jax informed him.

Jury looked relieved, nodding at them both.

"Appreciate that."

Clay leaned forward, hugging Jury before stepping aside. Jax embraced him tightly, shaking his head.

"I'm sorry about all this, man," he whispered.

"It's all right, son," Jury assured him.

Before Jax could walk away once they broke apart, Clay caught his arm and steered him away from Jury.

"You wanna tell me what happened out there?" he questiond suspiciously.

"I went for a ride to clear my head and the Mayans spotted me. You saw the rest," Jax said simply.

Tig and Bobby walked up to them, ending their conversation.

"Juice will, uh, stick around and watch over the AK assembly," Clay said, turning to the others.

"I'll have Vegas, you know, bring up some illegals, help him out," Tig suggested.

The president nodded in agreement before remembering something.

"Oh. I got some helpers for you."

Tig turned around, watching as Happy walked up with three girls in little amounts of clothing.

"No. Really?" he gasped, grinning when Clay nodded. "Oh, I love you."

"I know. You don't deserve this," Clay said.

Tig let out a laugh, walking to the girls.

"I love all of you. Yes, I do. I love all of you," he proclaimed, leading the girls off to the back.

"Look, I want to go back and see the kid. Elena and I will ride back with Happy and his guys," Jax said, turning to Clay.

The older man nodded, watching as Jax walked off.

"How's he doing?"

"Hard to say," Bobby answered.

"I got anything to worry about?" Clay questioned.

He shook his head.

"Not yet," Bobby said.

* * *

"You really didn't have to do this," Elena said, rolling her eyes as Cherry clipped a necklace around her neck.

"I have to leave you better than I found you. Besides, these are my lucky shoes. It gives me an excuse to come out to Charming and get them back," she said with a shrug.

Elena grinned over at her before gathering her into a hug.

"Thank you," she said.

"Any time. It's like dressing my own life-sized doll," Cherry said teasingly, kissing her cheek before pulling away. "Now go get your man."

Elena gave her a look.

"He's not…"

"Oh please. You two were all over each other last night and he practically melted when he saw what you were wearing. You could have him wrapped around your finger if you wanted to," Cherry said.

"Stop it," she said with a roll of her eyes, grabbing her purse before turning to walk out.

She ignored the looks that Clay and the others gave her, brushing past them to walk outside. Jax was waiting by his bike, his eyebrows lifting at the sight of what she was wearing.

"Now this I could get used to," he said, reaching out for her.

Elena hesitated for a moment before stepping into his arms, pressing a long kiss to his lips. At that moment, she didn't care who saw. She wanted to do what felt good, and this felt pretty damn good. Jax grinned at her when she pulled away before turning to mount his bike. Elena did the same, wrapping her arms around his waist before turning her head to press her cheek to the back of his cut. Her eyes happened to fall on Clay and she held his gaze, almost feeling like a challenge was rising between them. It had something to do with Jax, she was certain. And Elena hated to lose.

* * *

It was late afternoon by the time they arrived in Charming. Jax drove straight to the hospital, both of them looking forward to seeing Abel.

"Looks like Mom is here," he said, nodding at Gemma's car where it was parked in the lot as they walked towards the doors of the hosptial.

"Where else would she be?" Elena asked with a smile.

He laughed, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him willingly, not even separating when they stepped into the elevator. Jax leaned down for one more long kiss before they walked out onto the pediatric floor. They went straight to Abel's room, catching sight of Gemma inside sitting beside Abel's incubation box.

"Hey," Jax whispered as they walked in, both separating from the other.

Gemma looked surprised at Elena's change in hair and clothing before looking up at Jax.

"You okay?" she asked.

"I'm fine," Jax answered as Elena smiled down at Abel, watching him move his arms.

Gemma huffed out a frustrated sigh.

"Think maybe someone could've called. I've been sitting…"

Jax interrupted her with a kiss on her cheek before laughing. Gemma watched with an amused gaze as they both bent over the tiny baby. Elena didn't mind when Jax's hand laid over hers for a moment. She glanced at Gemma before turning her hand over, tangling their fingers together. The older woman didn't fail to notice it, her eyebrow lifting at the sight.

"So, how was Nevada?" she asked, smirking between them.

Jax glanced up at her, almost looking worried that she would say something about Clay and Cherry. Elena took a deep breath before smiling at her.

"Great," she answered, knowing that it was the best thing.

Outside of the room, Tara walked up with an envelope in her hand that had just been delivered. She stopped short, looking between the three people that stood in the room. Jax didn't even notice her, too busy staring between Elena and Abel. With a pounding heart, she looked down, pulling the photos out of the envelope. She effortlessly recognized her ex's handwriting that informed her of the date and time of the photo, taking a sharp breath when she saw the two people standing close together in the frame.

They were slightly blurry but she could tell their identities with ease. After all, a thin pane of glass only a few feet away separated them from her. She felt jealousy and disappointment rearing up in her at the sight of Elena and Jax kissing deeply in the middle of a parking lot. Tara glanced back up, almost hoping that Jax would notice her. He didn't. She walked away.

* * *

**I would love to hear what you think!**


	7. There's No Turning Back

**Disclaimer: I do not own TVD or SoA.**

**Thanks to Dark Alana, TheGrandTootah, vdwdtw0809, Dean Winchester Rocks, JMHUW, beverlie4055, TheMotionlessMermaid, RHatch89, DemonTrapsAndVervain, zikae218, linmarieca, JaxElenafan, xpaigers91, RookieBlueFangirl48, lagoon childe, Nerd, HisSecretLover18, MsMerryRask, KlausIsMySoulMate, PaulineLeighxox, and the three guests for reviewing! I appreciate all of your comments!**

**Chapter Title: Everybody Wants to Rule the World - Lorde**

**A few things:**

**1. I am so sorry about the delay in update. I've had a lot of things go wrong for me lately. I broke my foot and less than a week later, my cat died. So I've been pretty distracted.**

**2. That being said, let me make something really clear, I love writing for you guys. I love writing in general. I love sharing this fanfic with you and getting your feedback on it. But a lot of people need to remember that fic writers do this for free in their own time. We have lives to deal with and sometimes, there is a lot of shit going on in those lives. If we're not updating, it's not because we want to keep you waiting. Trust me, I would rather be writing all of the time than dealing with what I've had to deal with. I don't say this to be rude or mean to any of you. Like I said, I love all of you. I just really want to ask for some patience and understanding.**

**3. As always, Elena's outfits are on my profile.**

* * *

There was no one except Elena in the clubhouse. That was just fine with her at the moment. She was content to sit on the bar and stare down at the certificate in her hands. It was strangely anti-climactic, ending high school this way. Elena didn't even walk with the other students with the robes and ridiculous hat. But no matter what, she was happy for it to be over. Her friends and Jeremy had sent her texts that morning, knowing that today was the day. Elena hadn't responded to anyone but her brother, unsure of what to say. It was a difficult situation when she was supposed to graduate right along with Bonnie and Caroline.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of the door opening. Elena ignored it, still staring at the paper. Footsteps approached her but she didn't even look up, too focused on reading her name again and again. It should have felt wrong but it didn't. She should have been sad, but she didn't. What did that say about her? What had changed?

"I need a favor."

Elena finally looked up, her eyes falling on Jax where he stood a few feet away, his hands in his pockets.

"Give me a little bit longer. I'm basking," she said, brushing off her thoughts as she gestured to the certificate.

"I really, really need a favor," Jax said, stepping closer.

The full force of his blue eyes were turned on her and she knew exactly what he was doing.

"That look might work on the cashier at the gas station down the street, Jackson Teller, but I am an educated woman," Elena said, waving the diploma in his face. "I'm immune."

A smirk formed on his face as he took the leather-framed diploma, setting it on the bar.

"Immune, huh?" Jax said, nearing her rather quickly.

His hands settled on her knees where her dress rode up, making her bite down on her lower lip as she nodded in confirmation. Jax pulled her legs apart gently, moving to stand between them.

"Nothing I can do to change your mind?" he questioned.

Elena shook her head, a smile creeping onto her face.

"Hmm," he sighed, squinting slightly. "You sure about that?"

She pretended to think about it but he didn't give her time to answer, surging forward to kiss her. Elena slid her arms around his shoulders, parting her lips for him without hesitation. He tasted of coffee and mint and smelled of leather and aftershave. His hand curled into her long curls as her fingers played with the hair at the back of his neck. When he pulled away, his eyes were sparkling mischievously.

"How about now?" Jax said, bumping his nose against hers.

Elena shook her head, laughing lightly as she smacked his shoulder.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"I need to grab a few things for the kid's room later this afternoon. Can you help me out? Mom is busy and I'm hopeless at that shit," Jax said, stroking a thumb over her cheek.

Elena scoffed, rolling her eyes as she tapped her heeled foot against his leg.

"Of course I'll help you Jax. That's not even a favor. It's a merciful act. It'd be cruel to poor Abel if I left you in charge of his nursery."

His eyebrow lifted at her words.

"Oh really?" he said, looking amused.

"Mm-hm," Elena nodded, a grin spreading across her face. "I'd be willing to bet quite a bit of money that if you were in charge, it would be decorated in reapers and Playboy centerfolds."

Jax let out a laugh, seizing her legs.

"Well then come off that bar if you're gonna talk so big," he said, dragging her towards him.

"No!" she laughed, trying to shove him away.

He caught her just before she slipped off, capturing her lips in a kiss as he gathered her in his arms. Elena responded eagerly, smiling against his mouth as his arm slid around her lower back. When they broke apart, he stared into her eyes as his thumb stroked over her bottom lip.

"Thanks babe," Jax said quietly.

Warmth filled her chest and Elena couldn't help but beam up at him.

"Just doing my good deed of the day," she brushed off, pulling him down for another kiss. "Come get me from the high school when you're ready. I'll be helping Gemma set up."

* * *

"Am I allowed to ask?"

Elena looked over at the other side of the car where Gemma was driving. They were heading home so that they could both change into more comfortable clothing.

"Ask?" she said.

"What happened in Nevada that changed shit between you and my kid?" the other woman questioned.

She sighed, already knowing that it must have been about Jax.

"It wasn't Nevada," Elena said with a shake of her head, staring out of the windshield.

"The way Clay tells it, you were normal one minute and all over each other the next," Gemma replied.

She rolled her eyes, biting back the urge to reveal exactly what Clay was up to in Indian Hills.

"It wasn't just Nevada. It's been building up for a while, I think. Tequila was involved. I guess I also realized that I was delaying the inevitable."

Gemma nodded slowly, a small smile forming on her face.

"Well he could certainly do worse. In fact, he's already done worse."

Elena looked over at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Tara?" she questioned, knowing that the other woman made no secret of her dislike for the doctor.

"And Wendy. I'm an equal opportunity disapproving mother," Gemma answered, smirking over at her.

"Why do I feel like that's a warning?" Elena asked.

"Because it was," she responded. "I like you just fine, darling. But you break my boy's heart and we're going to have a problem."

Elena rolled her eyes for the second time in as many minutes.

"We're not even really together, Gemma. A few kisses do not a relationship make."

"I hear you. Just keep my words in mind if that ever changes," Gemma said.

"Will do," Elena said, nodding in agreement.

They remained silent, pulling up to the driveway.

"Oh, I need a favor."

Elena looked over at her.

"This sounds familiar," she muttered.

"Hmm?" Gemma said.

"Nothing, what's up?" Elena said, smiling innocently.

The other woman narrowed her eyes slightly.

"I need you to sell the raffle tickets tomorrow. A lot our customers will react well to this girl next door thing you've got going," Gemma said.

She looked at her skeptically before glancing down at her outfit.

"Girl next door?" Elena said.

"Well not right now, particularly. But tomorrow you can dress in some of your prissy clothes," Gemma said, climbing out of the car.

"I do love these talks of ours," she sighed, doing the same.

* * *

Once they arrived at the high school, everyone was put straight to work. The fundraiser was outside in the courtyard between the gym and the main building. Elena wasn't too thrilled to return to the school but she couldn't refuse Gemma's call for help when it came to raising money for a good cause.

"Tell everyone to leave room for the buses," Gemma said as they set up the booth for the grill that would be manned by the police department.

"Who are we bussing?" Luann asked, pulling a bunch of napkins out of a package.

"Oakdale Assisted Living. Seniors are all compulsive gamblers. Triples our raffle dollars. God bless Social Security."

Elena looked up along with the other two as a woman approached the table. She didn't recognize her but Gemma and Luann seemed to know her.

"Oh, hey, April. Appreciate you coming to help," Gemma said.

"No problem," the woman replied, looking slightly nervous. "Can I ask you something?"

"What?" she said, looking wary.

April sighed before speaking.

"Charlie's band's playing during the fireworks tomorrow night. He really wants his dad to come."

Elena saw the look on Gemma's face and knew that this was a lot to ask for.

"Oh, shit, April. I don't think Clay is gonna go for it."

"Oh, I would never ask anything like this. Me and you, we understand what went down," April said quickly, shaking her head. "But my kids…Charlie doesn't know. It breaks his heart that his dad can't come to anything around here. Not baseball games, no school stuff."

"All right, I'll bring it up to Clay," Gemma sighed, not looking like she was holding out any hope.

"Thank you," the other woman said, looking relieved.

"I can't promise anything."

April nodded, giving them all small smile before turning to walk off.

"What is that about?" Elena asked, wondering if she would get a straight answer.

Apparently Gemma was in the sharing mood, because she told Elena all that she needed to know.

"Her asshole of an ex-husband got Opie sent to jail and was excommunicated from the club for it. Now she wants to let him come to the one place where all of Sam Crow will be," Gemma said simply.

Elena's eyebrows lifted, realizing just how serious this was.

"You don't think Clay'll let it happen," she said.

"I'd be shocked if he did."

* * *

"This is different," she said, walking across the parking lot.

Jax was leaning against the passenger door of the garage's work truck.

"I can't really strap a kid's playpen on the back of my bike," he said, stepping towards her.

"Well, you could try. It would be fun to watch," Elena said with a slight smile.

She stepped into his arms, giving him a quick kiss. When she pulled away, he was frowning slightly, almost looking disappointed at her greeting.

"We have stuff to do, Jax. There will be time for kissing later," Elena said, a small smile on her face.

"I'd rather do the kissing now," Jax said, slipping his hand beneath her shirt to skim his fingers over her lower back.

She shook her head, kissing him once more.

"Later," Elena said, determined not to be swayed.

He groaned, reaching past her to open the truck's door.

"Hmm, looks like leather and chivalry goes together after all," she said teasingly.

"Nah, I just wanted to get a good look at your ass when you climbed in," Jax replied, a smirk on his face.

Elena scoffed, turning around to hit him in several places as he laughed. Once they were settled in the cab of the truck, she began flipping through the radio stations and he pulled out of the driveway.

"So where are we going?" she asked, settling on the clearest sounding station, one playing an old Waylon Jennings son.

"Ope's house," Jax answered.

She blanched at that, looking over at him with a hesitant expression.

"What?" he said, catching sight of the look on her face.

"I don't think Opie likes me."

Jax let out a laugh, shaking his head.

"What makes you think that?" he asked.

"Well he never really talks to me…or looks at me," Elena shrugged, glancing away from him with burning cheeks.

"Nah, that's just Ope. I'm surprised he managed to get Donna to talk to him, much less marry him. He's never been all that smooth around the ladies," Jax said, sounding too amused for her liking.

Elena stared over at him with her eyebrows slightly lifted.

"Unlike someone else I know?" she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

Jax laughed once more, reaching over to put his hand on her knee.

"There's only one woman I'm concerned with at the moment," he assured her.

"Please tell me it's not your mother," Elena said dryly.

He grinned at her, squeezing her knee lightly.

"It's not my mother," Jax assured her.

She rolled her eyes but reached down, taking his hand in hers.

"Why do I put up with you?" Elena said, not really expecting a response.

"There are many reasons," Jax replied.

She scoffed but didn't argue against his statement. By the time they arrived at Opie's house, she was feeling nervous about being around both Jax's best friend and that friend's wife. She'd only met Donna once and briefly when she was grocery shopping with Gemma. There was certainly no love lost between the two women.

"Relax. Just let 'em get to know you and they'll love you," Jax assured her as they walked towards the front door.

Elena sighed but didn't reply, watching as he knocked on the door. Donna answered it, smiling between them. She couldn't tell if it was a forced smile or not, but she returned it nonetheless.

"Opie is out back. I hope you're ready for some work. You have to dig around in the storage building," Donna said, leading them towards the backyard. "Elena and I could make some lemonade."

"Sounds good. I'll go out there with Ope," Jax said, kissing Elena's temple before walking away.

She fought back the urge to glare at his back. Not only did he leave her alone, he did so with a woman that she barely knew.

"I don't bite," Donna assured her.

Elena looked at her with uncertainty before following her into the kitchen.

"So how long have you been with Sam Crow?" Donna asked casually, adding sugar to the lemon juice and water as Elena put ice in cups.

"I've been in Charming for about three months," she answered, glancing at the other woman over her shoulder. "I'm not sure that I'm exactly with Sam Crow. I'm friends with a friend of Gemma and Clay and I needed a place to stay."

"Oh," the older woman said, sounding surprised.

Elena frowned slightly, feeling like there was a strange undercurrent to this conversation.

"Why did you think that I'm with Sam Crow?" she questioned.

"Well, Jax doesn't exactly take just anyone around town. Plus you're with Gemma a lot, or so I've heard," Donna shrugged.

"You've heard?"

She glanced over her shoulder at Elena, nodding as she stirred the lemonade.

"It's a small town. People get their thrills from gossip and you're the newest thing in Charming since the last mayor was elected."

"I'm really not news," Elena said, not liking the sound of this.

She'd grown up in a small town and knew firsthand how quickly gossip could travel through its inhabitants.

"I'm not sure that Charming agrees," Donna said, pouring the pale yellow liquid into the four glasses.

"Well, I'm probably not what any of the gossip says. All I am is a girl from Virginia who came here because she had nowhere else to go," she sighed.

"And you and Jax?" the other woman asked, sounding genuinely curious.

Elena looked at her, hesitating for a moment.

"That wasn't supposed to happen. I didn't…plan on it happening," she admitted, shaking her head. "But I can't really complain."

Donna smiled slightly, taking her by surprise as they each picked up two glasses.

"Jax has a way of getting to you. I wanted to hate him in high school. He was everything that I wasn't supposed to like, full of himself and desperate to join Sam Crow. But once I started dating Opie, I couldn't help but love Jax too."

Elena found herself smiling as they walked towards the backyard.

"I'm glad it's not just me then," she said.

Donna laughed, balancing the glasses as she reached out to open the door.

"You are not the first girl to fall for the Jax Teller charm, believe me," she said, turning to look her up and down. "But keep a level head and don't trust Gemma, and you might just be the first one I like."

Elena didn't really know how to respond to that, following her into the backyard. When she looked past Donna at the small storage building, her eyes fell on Jax and she noted, with appreciation, that he was not wearing a shirt.

"Lemonade!" Donna announced.

Both men reached out for it appreciatively, feeling the hot sun beating down on them. Elena handed one glass over to Jax, watching as he drank it eagerly.

"Thanks," he said, grinning at her once it was gone.

Elena took the glass from him, simply shrugging.

"Don't look at me. I only put the ice in the glasses," she said, gesturing to Donna to give her the credit.

"It was a job well done," Opie said, grinning over at her.

She smiled in return, relieved that this was going much better than she anticipated. As Jax and Opie went back to digging through the storage room, Donna and Elena remained in the cool shadow of the trees.

"How did you get this thing in here?" Opie grumbled, pulling stuff aside to get to the playpen.

"By myself," Donna said simply, crossing her arms over her chest.

Jax reached in, grasping the corner of the pen to dislodge it. As he did, several things spilled out of the small building and he staggered, pulling the pen out with a sheepish look.

"Sorry," he said with a laugh, glancing over his shoulder at Donna.

Elena walked over as he held it up for her inspection.

"Looks great," she said with a nod.

Jax looked relieved, glancing at Opie.

"How much?"

"Aw, forget it. It's a gift," Opie waved off, going back to setting things back in the storage building.

Neither Elena nor Jax failed to see the worried expression on Donna's face. As he set it down, Elena picked up a few boxes out of it and handed them over to Opie. Jax pulled out some money to hand over to Donna.

"No, Jax. I don't want it," she said, trying to refuse.

"Hey. I'm the one getting the deal," Jax said, brushing her off.

Donna grinned at him, taking the money to put in her pocket. He patted her shoulder before walking back over, picking up the playpen.

"All right, we'll see you at the fund-raiser."

"That Taste of Charming thing?" Donna asked, walking towards them.

Opie nodded in response as Elena and Jax looked between them.

"Yeah. I'm doing the fireworks," he said.

"Oh, really?" Donna said, lifting her eyebrow.

"It's not a club thing, Donna," Opie sighed.

"Yeah. My mom started it years ago. It raises money for the school district," Jax jumped in, protecting his best friend from the wrath of his wife.

Opie turned towards him with an appreciative look as Elena picked up Jax's shirt where it was thrown over a nearby chair.

"We'll be there," Opie said.

"All right," Jax nodded as they turned away.

Instead of walking through the house, they walked around the perimeter to the truck where Jax tossed the playpen in the back.

"What did you and Donna talk about? You both seemed pretty happy coming out," he said, sounding like he was pleased with the outcome.

"None of your business," Elena said with a smile, opening her door to climb inside.

He squinted at her, looking slightly suspicious.

"That is a nice playpen," she said once they were settled in their seats. "Now you just need a crib, a changing table, a rocking chair, child-proofing stuff for the house, and a shit ton of toys and diapers."

Jax huffed out a sigh, shaking his head as he started the car.

"You wanna pay for all that shit?" he asked.

Elena looked over at him with a raised eyebrow.

"I would but I'm not the one who knocked up your ex-wife," she replied.

A slow grin formed on his face.

"Now that is something that I would have paid to see," Jax said suggestively.

"Shut up and drive, you perverted old man," Elena fired back.

"Old man?" Jax said, acting offended at her word choice.

"I'm not nineteen yet, mister. You're a dirty old man to my eighteen-year-old self."

He scoffed, turning around as he backed out of the driveway.

"I prefer to think that I bring a level of maturity to this relationship that would otherwise be missing," Jax said, lifting his chin proudly.

"You and the other guys set a stack of tires on fire in the parking lot of Teller-Morrow last week just to see what would happen," Elena reminded him, shaking her head.

He couldn't help but guffaw at the memory, proving her point.

"That was great and you know it."

"That entire area smelled like burning rubber for three days!"

"Just a reminder of our ingenuity."

"Just a reminder of your stupidity."

They turned to look at each other at the same time before bursting into laughter. Once Elena regained control over herself, she glanced at the clock.

"Let's go see Abel after we drop everything at the house," she suggested.

"Yeah?" Jax said, looking like he liked that idea.

She nodded, smiling over at him.

* * *

Clay and Tig sat in the prison's visitation room, having received a message through the club's lawyer about one of their members wanting to meet with them. Otto looked as good as he could for a guy when facing a pretty long prison sentence.

"Thanks for bringing this to the club. The guys send their best," Clay said, nodding at the other man.

Otto was one of the first nine too, married to Luann and a big supporter of the club even from behind bars.

"It's all good, man."

"So who else is looking to meet with your friend?" Tig asked.

They were referring to an accountant that Otto had been protecting in prison throughout his stay. The guy had skimmed money from Henry Lin, the leader of another gang near to Charming.

"He's got a couple buddies in Chinatown. They'd love to find him. Show him a good time," he answered.

"If we pick him up, show him a good time first, how grateful is Chuck?" Clay asked.

Otto thought about it for a moment before answering.

"Probably bake you two honey cakes."

"You trust him?" Tig asked.

"Been watching his back for eighteen months. I know him pretty good. I trust him," Otto nodded.

"All right. We'll show him around," Clay agreed, reaching out towards the other man.

They shook hands as Otto nodded.

"Good. You make sure my gratitude goes to Luann," he reminded them.

"Absolutely," Clay assured him.

"Otto," Tig nodded at him, standing up along with the president of Sam Crow.

As they started to leave, the other man stopped them, glancing over his shoulder.

"Oh, listen. Chuck…he's got a couple of issues. It's a nervous tic kind of a thing."

"Tics we can deal with," Clay said confidently.

Otto smirked, nodding in agreement as they walked away.

"Yeah, no doubt."

* * *

Elena relaxed on one chair, her legs propped on Jax's lap as they sat beside the incubator. The fingers of one of his hands were skimming over her ankle as his other hand held the same children's book that she encouraged him to buy in that gas station so long ago.

"As I ride along, I hear a great sound. What could it be? What could it be? It's a merry-go-round."

She smiled, reaching out to brush a hand through his hair as he flushed and glanced over at her before looking down at his sleeping son.

"I'm sorry, little man. I'm not as good at this as Grandma and Elena," Jax said quietly.

"You're doing great," Elena said encouragingly.

He grinned over at her before looking back down at the book. As he started to read again, her eyes lifted to see someone step up to the glass. The man had grey hair and a strange expression on his face. His eyes were fixed on Abel and she felt a shiver go down her spine. Whoever this was, she had a bad feeling about him.

"Jax," she said quietly.

He glanced up at her before following her eye line to the window. A frown formed on his face as the man looked over at them, nodding his head. They both nodded in return, expecting him to leave. He didn't. Finally, Jax stood up and walked to the door, opening it to step out. Elena could hear their quiet conversation from where she sat.

"Can I help you?" Jax asked.

"That's…that's a beautiful boy," the man said, a strange tone in his voice.

Elena was almost certain that Jax's face probably looked similar to her own, a slightly creeped out grimace at whatever this guy had going on.

"Thanks," Jax said.

Before the guy turned to walk away, his head turned to the glass again and his eyes settled straight on Elena. Her skin crawled and she fought the urge to look away, staring back at him without breaking the eye contact. Finally, he turned to walk away. Jax stepped back into the room, a strange expression on his face.

"What was that about?" Elena wondered, thoroughly creeped out by it.

"I have no idea," Jax admitted, sitting down once more.

He bent down, replacing her feet in his lap before going back to the book. Elena couldn't concentrate now, only thinking about the man's cold eyes when they stared at her. Even when Jax dropped her off at Gemma and Clay's house, all she could think about was that man.

* * *

"Hey, baby. All set for your picnic?" Clay asked as Gemma stepped into the garage.

He was looking over the current tune-ups, seeing what could go back to customers and what had to stay for more repairs.

"It's a fund-raiser," she corrected him.

He looked over at her with a smile.

"Who are we raising funds for this year?"

"Music department, middle school."

He nodded, putting his sunglasses on.

"You are a saint," Clay said, glancing over a motorcycle.

"Don't be an asshole," Gemma said, narrowing her eyes at him.

He looked over at her, a mocking serious look on his face.

"I'm serious."

"Yeah, I can tell," she scoffed.

Clay grinned over at her before looking around at the mechanic in the room.

"Hey, Lowell, you replace this main shaft?"

"Yep," Lowell answered.

Gemma leaned up against a stack of crates, watching as he took some tools to the bike.

"I was talking to April Hobart. What do you think about letting Kyle come tomorrow?"

Clay froze, looking up at her with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't think about it. Opie went to prison cause of that asshole. He's excommunicated," he said simply, more than a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"It's not for Kyle. April stayed in Charming when you stripped his patch, divorced him."

"She divorced him cause he was nailing everything with two sets of lips. The answer is no," Clay said with an air of finality.

Gemma leaned forward, a frown on hr face.

"His kid's band is playing tomorrow night. His father's never seen him play. It's for April's kids," she tried to convince him.

"Jesus," he said, shaking his head.

She sighed, knowing that this wasn't working for her.

"Well, I guess I was just feeling charitable. Thought maybe you'd like the opportunity to do the same thing," Gemma said, making her way towards the office.

"Hey. I'm very charitable," Clay called after her.

She turned around with an innocent expression, nodding in response.

"I know, darling."

He thought about it for a moment before huffing out a sigh.

"You know what? I'll put it up for a vote. But it's not gonna pass."

"I love you," Gemma said with a grin.

"That love's gonna kill me," Clay grumbled.

* * *

As soon as the guys sat around the table in the chapel, Clay tapped the gavel against the wooden platform and began speaking.

"Chuck's been cooking the books for the Asian mob. Skimmed four hundred thousand off of Henry Lin's crew. Otto was keeping him safe up at Stockton, but he gets out tomorrow morning. So we protect him, we pick up the cash, we get him out of Cali."

"We're gonna split the cash with Chucky boy. Twenty-five percent goes to us. Otto wants his twenty-five to go to Luann," Tig spoke up.

"It ain't gonna be a cakewalk," Bobby said with a shake of his head. "Lin's a dangerous cat. Sneaky little bastard."

Clay leaned forward with an agreeing nod.

"That's why we're gonna work three-man shifts," he informed them all, glancing around. "We're gonna keep this place locked down. Chuck never leaves the clubhouse. And the garage is open for pickups only."

"Skim's hidden in one of the restaurants Lin uses as a front. We're gonna keep Chuck here until Sunday. Go pick up the money when the place is closed," Tig said.

"Good, good," Bobby said.

They all began standing up, assuming that was the end of the meeting.

"Uh, wait a minute. Wait a minute," Clay sighed, stopping them all. "There's, uh…there's one more thing. April Hobart wants to know if her old man can come to the fund-raiser, see his kid's band play."

"You gotta be kidding," Jax said, freezing in place.

Opie did the same, inhaling deeply at the mention of the excommunicated former member.

"That's done, brother. That's done," Tig said, shaking his head.

"No, I know. But, you know, she took a big hit staying behind. She supported the club. It's for her, not Kyle. And I figured I'd throw it up for a vote," Clay said, glancing around to see their reactions.

"Let him come."

Everyone looked at Opie, surprised to hear the words from his mouth.

"Are you serious?" Jax questioned.

"This can't be about getting even. Not at the school," Clay warned him.

"It's not about that," Opie assured him, putting out his cigarette. "The guy's got nothing, right? No club, no family. Do me good to see that. Appreciate what I got."

Clay nodded in agreement.

"Anybody opposed?"

"Yeah, me," Tig threw in.

"I don't agree with it," Piney said, watching his son with narrowed eyes.

Clay looked around the table.

"Majority rule. Vote passes. Let him come," he said, banging the gavel.

As they stood up to leave, he announced one last thing.

"Hey, you all better be at that fund-raiser tomorrow unless you want a size nine high-heel boot up your ass."

"You coming?" Bobby asked.

"I'd rather have my balls cut off," Clay said with an exaggerated grimace.

Several of the men around the room laughed and groaned at the reminder of what happened to the rapist clown.

"What? What? Too soon for that joke?" Clay asked, grinning at them.

Before Jax could leave, he stopped him with a hand on his chest.

"Hey, watch Kyle tomorrow. I don't want anything going down at Gemma's gig. Keep him away from Ope," Clay instructed him.

"All right," Jax nodded, all too willing to follow through on that.

* * *

As Elena walked into the kitchen to grab something to eat for breakfast, she saw Gemma there sipping on a cup of coffee.

"Well?" she said, turning around in place to show off the clothes that she was wearing.

"Nice and prissy," Gemma said with a nod, smirking slightly.

Elena rolled her eyes, walking to the toaster to stick some bread in.

"I hope you know that I don't want to do this. I wasn't ever supposed to step foot in that high school again once I graduated," she said, giving the other woman a pointed look.

"We are all very thankful for your sacrifice," she said appreciatively, only a slight hint of sarcasm in her voice.

Using her best mature skills, Elena stuck out her tongue as she poured herself some coffee. When her phone beeped in her back pocket, she pulled it out to look at the text that came. Sighing heavily at the sight of the name, she stuck it back in her pocket without reading it.

"Uh oh. Someone piss you off?" Gemma questioned.

"No. I just…don't really want to talk to anyone except my brother, who I already talked to last night," Elena shrugged.

"Is there a reason?"

She hesitated before answering.

"We had big plans for graduating…me and my friends, I mean. We were always going to get ready together in the morning and walk across the stage to each other's loud cheers and get drunk that night with the rest of our class. We were going to have an epic day full of memories and tears and…" Elena trailed off, shaking her head. "They're moving on without me. Caroline and Bonnie are already planning on going to college together and rooming together. They tell me to keep up hope that we'll all do it but I know that's not true. I don't think I can do normal college stuff, or even that I want to. I'm not the same girl I was a year ago…or even three months ago. The truth is that even if I did talk to them, I would have absolutely nothing to say."

Gemma sighed, walking over to put her arm around Elena's shoulders.

"That's life, baby," she said, squeezing her tightly. "People move on and you start doing things without those people that you knew. It's part of growing up and it's not a bad thing. Your friends can go one way and you can go another. It's your choice."

Elena nodded, knowing that she was right.

"Now get a move on, would you? We have funds to raise," Gemma said with a wink.

She laughed, shaking her head as she pulled her toast out to butter it.

* * *

When the van pulled up to the prison with Tig and Bobby escorting it on their bikes, it was pretty clear that the nervous guy standing outside was their man.

"You Chuck?" Half-Sack called out of the window of the driver's side.

"Yeah, yeah, thanks," the man said, sounding relieved as he ran towards the van.

Once he got in the back, he sat between Clay and Jax with a sigh.

"Thank you, guys. I'm really, really in your debt," Chuck said, shaking the hands of both the president and vice-president of the club. "You got no idea how much I appreciate you helping me out."

They simply nodded at him, glancing away as they pulled out from the prison parking lot. By the time they looked back, Chuck's hand was shoved down his pants and he was making very suspicious, familiar movements. Jax looked at him with disgust as Clay simply stared with shock.

* * *

Just by luck, Donna and Opie happened to arrive with their kids at the same time that Kyle arrived with his jailbait girlfriend.

"Isn't that guy Sam Crow?" Donna asked, vaguely recognizing him as they climbed out of the truck.

Opie glanced over his shoulder at Kyle, shaking his head.

"Not anymore."

She looked surprised and confused, glancing between Opie and the excommunicated member.

"He got out?"

"Sort of," Opie nodded, watching as Jax pulled into the parking lot. "Why don't you take the kids? I'll catch up."

"Okay," Donna agreed, ushering Kenny and Ellie forward. "Come on, babies."

Jax embraced Opie before walking to see his kids and wife.

"Kenny!" he said, messing with the little boy's hair as he grinned. "How you doing, Donna?"

She leaned over, allowing him to kiss her cheek.

"Hi Jax."

They walked forward as Jax hung back with Opie, watching as he fiddled with something on his keychain.

"Does she know about Kyle?"

Opie shook his head in response, glancing back at Kyle once more.

"Looks like he's doing all right."

Jax sighed, patting his shoulder.

"Go hang with your family."

Just as Kyle approached the entrance, he caught sight of Jax waiting and sighed, nodding at his girlfriend.

"Hey, give us a minute, baby. All right?"

"Okay," she nodded, walking on past them.

Kyle walked to Jax, holding his hands up in surrender.

"No need to say anything, Jackson. I know my boundaries."

"Well, I'm gonna tell you anyway," Jax said, stepping forward to speak in a quiet voice. "You stay away from everyone. Kid's done playing, you and your teenager climb in your pretty little cage and drive away."

He turned to walk away once the warning was given but Kyle stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Jax, wait. I have something for the club. This thing fell into my lap, man. I'm making stupid money funneling stolen parts through my gig over at Sparks Brothers. I want to hook you guys up…"

Jax seized his collar, shoving him into the wall with a furious look on his face.

"That's why you're here? Trying to buy us back? Pull us into one of your bullshit schemes?" he demanded angrily.

"It's not bullshit. Okay, I want to share this with you guys," Kyle said, trying to convince him.

Jax looked around in time to see both his mother and Elena staring at him with eerily similar unimpressed looks.

"Get out of my sight," he growled, releasing Kyle to walk off.

* * *

"This is a really nice place. Thank you for having me," Chuck said, glancing around the clubhouse.

Half-Sack handed him a beer over the counter and he nodded his thanks, pulling out some money.

"It's on the house, man," the prospect waved him off.

"Oh, that's very nice of you," Chuck said, smiling nervously before taking a drink. "Excellent draft."

"So, you really got four hundred thou stashed away, huh, Chucky?" Clay asked, walking in with a cigar in his mouth.

"Four hundred and sixtee thou," he corrected him, reaching into his pants automatically.

Piney looked at him with a scowl when he saw just as Half-Sack rounded the bar to sit down.

"Jesus," Piney said.

Half-Sack simply stared, torn between shock and disgust.

"Lin was real sloppy with his money. Arrogant, wasteful prick. There's so much of it too. Counterfeiting, prostitution. So I cooked his books for about a year. Skimmed a little, hoping he'd fire me. But nobody noticed. So I kept on skimming," Chuck continued on as if nothing strange was happening.

"What'd you get busted for?" Clay asked.

"Lin's lawyer finally caught on. I got scared. So I blew the whistle. I cut a deal," he answered.

"Ah. So you're a thief and a rat."

Chuck swallowed hard before nodding.

"I accept that."

Clay sighed, shaking his head.

"The, uh…the hand on the dick, what's the deal?" he questioned.

Chuck looked down with wide eyes before withdrawing his hand.

"I'm sorry, man. I'm sorry. Sorry," he said, looking around with a grimace. "I have this condition. I'm not even aware of it."

"Condition?" Clay said doubtfully.

"CMD. Compulsive Masturbation Disorder?" he said, twitching nervously. "I couldn't get the right meds in Stockton. So it's a little out of control right now."

"You know, I used to have that. And then, uh, hell, I turned thirteen," Piney said, laughing as he shook his head.

Half-Sack and Clay chuckled along with him but Chuck looked bothered.

"Well, it's a lot more common than you think. It stems from childhood trauma. I was sexually abused."

Clay shook his head, taking a long drink of his beer.

"Hey, Chuck, I don't give a shit about your childhood trauma. If I see your hand dance in your pants one more time, I'm gonna tie you up and I'm gonna throw you in the goddamn closet. Are we clear?"

Chuck nodded in agreement.

"I accept that."

* * *

A couple of hours into the fundraiser, Elena was taking a break from selling tickets. She wandered over to Jax, handing him a beer before he tugged her down to sit in his lap.

"Hey," she said, grinning down at him.

Her fingers stroked his bristly jaw, her thumb brushing his lower lip.

"How are you feeling?" Jax asked.

Elena sighed, glancing around them.

"Thankful that I don't have to come back to high school ever again if I don't want to," Elena said honestly.

He laughed, hugging her closer to his chest. Her eyes fell on the man who was causing all of the tension that day, Kyle. He was playing around with his daughter but his eyes were on Jax and Elena, curious and slightly creepy.

"How's the club handling that guy?" she asked.

Jax followed her eye line and shook his head.

"There's nothing to handle. He's dead to us."

Elena turned her head, catching sight of Opie where he saw on a curb drinking a beer.

"Well, he's not dead to Opie."

Jax looked around as well, sighing heavily at the sight of his best friend. She stood up when he tapped her hip, kissing him briefly before watching him walk away.

"Hey, I need you to do something," Gemma said, walking up to hand Elena her car keys. "I left some of the tickets at the garage in the office and we're gonna run out. Go grab them?"

"Yep," Elena nodded, taking them and her purse before walking towards the parking lot.

* * *

"You bow out of the egg toss?" Jax asked, sitting down next to Opie.

"Yeah. Yeah, I did," he sighed, shaking his head. "I wanted the guy to be a miserable, broken piece of shit without Sam Crow. I tell you, I'm having a hard time, man."

Jax pulled out his pack of cigarettes, handing one over to his friend.

"Here," he said, tossing his lighter to him.

"Thanks," Opie said with a nod. "You know, this club means everything to me. The only thing I ever wanted from the time I went here. But everything else…Donna, the kids, work…are all heading in the opposite direction. I just can't hook shit up. I feel like I'm missing on every front."

Jax scoffed, exhaling the smoke from his lungs.

"I got no answers. My family plan is right out of the Sid and Nancy handbook. I'm so used to shit moving in the other direction, I don't know what I'd do if something actually hooked up."

Opie looked over at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Things look like they're hooking up with Elena," he said.

Jax couldn't help but smile at that, shrugging his shoulders. Opie rolled his eyes, turning to look in Kyle's direction again.

"You think he's happy?"

"I don't know," Jax said, shaking his head.

Just as he said that, an egg landed on Kyle's shoulder and he let out an exaggerated groan. His girlfriend ran up, helping him take of his jacket. For a brief moment, they got a glimpse of his back and the reaper that was still there. Jax and Opie both sat up straighter, angry expressions forming on their faces.

"Still has that tat," Opie said, his eyes narrowed.

"Yeah," Jax said as he started to stand up.

His best friend held out an arm, shaking his head.

"This is me."

* * *

"Hey," Elena said, walking into the office at the garage.

Clay was bent over the desk looking over something.

"Aren't you supposed to be selling tickets?" he asked, barely glancing up at her.

"We've sold all the tickets. I need more," she said, looking through some of the drawers.

"Damn paperwork," Clay grumbled.

Elena looked over at him to see that he looked frustrated.

"There's paperwork in the garage. I saw it on a table," she said.

"Thanks," he sighed, walking out.

Just as she was pulling the roll of raffle tickets out, another man walked in, shifting nervously.

"Excuse me. Have you seen Clay?"

Elena looked up at him, unable to recognize him.

"Yeah, he's looking for some paperwork," she said.

"Okay," he said, nodding.

She turned around to stick the tickets in a bag. When she turned back to head for the door, his hand was down his pants and moving in a way that made her eyes widen.

"Shit!" she said before bursting into laughter.

The man seemed to realize what he was doing as she darted past him.

"I'm sorry!" he yelled after. "It's not sexual. I'm not sick that way."

Elena marched straight into the garage.

"Clay!"

He turned around to see her raised eyebrows and Chuck following close behind with a guilty expression on his face.

"I'm guess he's yours?" Elena said, pointing at the man.

"Chuck! Jesus Christ," he said, shaking his head angrily before looking at Elena. "Tell Jax and the others I want them back here now."

She watched as he grabbed the man's arm, steering him towards the clubhouse. Another giggle escaped from her mouth before she walked toward Gemma's car.

* * *

"I step outside for five goddamn minutes, you can't watch him?" Clay demanded, stomping into the clubhouse with Chuck.

"I was just in the can," Piney said, looking apologetic.

"I was getting him the soft toilet paper. He hates the scratchy kind," Half-Sack threw in.

Clay glowered between them.

"Well, I'm glad your ass is feeling loved," he said before turning on the other man. "Let's go, Chucky. We're picking up the money now."

"We can't go now. Restaurant's open. Everybody's there," Chuck stammered nervously.

"Yeah, everybody but us. I'm not sticking around for two more days and watching your hand puppet show. Get your stuff now."

"Is that wise?"

"Now!" Clay shouted.

Chuck scurried out to grab his things, closely followed by Half-Sack.

"Blue Beamer camped out front. It's the same one I saw at the prison," Clay said to Piney.

"Chinese?" the older man asked.

"No, it's the hand-job police," he said sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "Call the guys. We gotta do this thing now. And it could get messy."

* * *

When Jax walked into the high school gym, he saw Opie and Kyle cleaning up the blood from their faces and knuckles.

"I see you two have been talking."

"Yep," Opie nodded, glancing over at Kyle. "You seem to be doing all right. New truck. Nice piece of ass."

"Yeah, I guess," Kyle sighed, pulling his shirt back over his head. "I miss it, man. I miss it all. I mean, when I had that cut on, everybody knew who I was. Even if I never met 'em, man, I got instant respect. Now I'm just like every other shithead."

Jax and Opie exchanged a look, the latter nodding at the former.

"You started telling me something earlier. Stolen parts thing," Jax said, leading Kyle in the right direction.

"Yeah. I'd love to bring it to the club. Let you guys share in the pie," he said enthusiastically. "It's my way of saying sorry."

"We could run it by Clay," Opie suggested.

"Yeah?"

Jax nodded, pulling out a cigarette.

"Yeah. It's kind of a complicated time for us right now. So we should probably do it tonight while you're still in town."

"Yeah, absolutely," Kyle agreed.

"What about your kid's band?" Opie questioned.

"Oh, hey, it's cool. I can hear him some other time," he said, waving it off.

* * *

Elena walked up to Gemma's booth with Bobby and Tig, already having told both that Clay wanted them back.

"Have you seen Jax?" she asked.

"He's with Ope. Why?" Gemma asked, looking suspicious.

"Boss wants us." Bobby answered.

Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"You got two more hours in that booth," she said, referring to the fact that Bobby was acting and dressing as Elvis for the day.

"Sorry, Mother," Tig said. "Come on."

"I'll be right back. Sorry," Elena said, giving her a guilty look before hurrying off.

Gemma shook her head, looking murderous.

"Jesus Christ, Clay."

"It sucks being boss, don't it?" Unser asked, walking up to her.

She looked at the food he was eating and raised an eyebrow.

"You know that fried shit's gonna kill you."

"Yeah, cause the cancer's keeping me fit and spunky," he scoffed.

Gemma looked around, catching sight of Tara walking into the courtyard. She tracked the doctor with her eyes, surprised when she stopped short and stared at a man behind the police booth before turning to flee. Her curiousity overtook her and she had to ask.

"Hey, who's that guy behind the grill?"

"That's our new best friend. Agent Kohn. ATF," Unser informed her.

"The fed looking into the club is grilling sausages?" Gemma demanded.

"Must be part of his special federal training," he shrugged, turning to walk off.

She didn't take her eyes off the man, putting one hand on her hip.

* * *

As Elena walked up to Jax and Opie with Tig and Bobby, she saw that there was tension in the group, especially with Kyle standing so close. She didn't like the way the former Sam Crow member looked at her, her skin crawling at the appreciative look in his eyes.

"Are we okay here?" Tig asked, glancing between Opie and Kyle.

"Yeah. What's up?" Jax said, reaching out to take Elena's hand.

He tugged her in closer, clearly not liking the way that Kyle looked at her either.

"We gotta go. Chow mein's ready," Bobby said.

"Now?" Jax said, surprised.

"Yep."

He turned to look at Opie, nodding at him.

"All right. I'll catch you guys back at the clubhouse."

"You gonna leave them alone?" Tig asked as they walked away.

Elena didn't let go of Jax's hand, glancing at Opie and Kyle over her shoulder.

"I'll tell you on the way."

As they walked through the courtyard, Elena caught sight of something troubling.

"Jax," she said, nodding at the man who was grilling at the police booth.

He looked at where she was pointing and a frown formed on his face.

"Jax, who is that guy?" Tig said, noticing that they were both staring at the man from the hospital.

Before they could answer, Gemma stepped in front of them with an furious look.

"You tell Clay I'm pissed off. Bad enough his sorry ass isn't here. Now he's taking all my manpower," she said angrily.

Jax barely listened to her, nodding at the man who had noticed their attention and was staring back at them with a slight smile on his face.

"Who's that guy with the cops?" Jax asked.

"That's your ATF guy," Gemma sighed.

Elena's eyes widened as Jax looked angry.

"That guy was at the hospital last night watching me and Elena with Abel."

Gemma looked even angrier, if that was possible.

"That's dangerous, brother," Tig said, glowering at the ATF agent.

"Well, you keep an eye on him. He follows us out of here or leaves at any point, you give me a call," Jax said, looking between the two women.

"Prepay?" Elena asked.

"Yeah," he nodded, leaning down to kiss her briefly before walking off with the men.

Elena stood beside Gemma, both of them watching the man as he laughed with some of the police officers. She suddenly knew exactly why none of them liked the feds.

* * *

"What's to stop them from calling the cops? Trespassing, vandalism," Chuck questioned as they drove towards the restaurant where he hid the money.

"I'm more worried they'll call Lin," Clay answered from the front seat.

"None of them have direct contact with him," he said, shaking his head.

Chuck looked down at his hands that were duct-taped to his legs with a grimace.

"Is this really necessary?"

"Yeah," Jax nodded, having heard from Elena what happened in the office.

As they pulled into the parking lot, Clay glanced back at him.

"You sure this is the place?"

"Yeah. I did the books out of the back office. Restaurants are how they wash the money," Chuck nodded.

Bobby reached over to rip the duct tape off, causing him to hiss in pain.

"Ow!"

"Our friends in the Beamer shouldn't be far behind," Clay said as they climbed out.

"We'll be ready," Jax replied.

They were the only ones to go into the restaurant with Chuck, wanting it to be a quick in and out thing.

"Masturbator! Masturbator!" a woman exclaimed when they walked in.

"I accept that," Chuck sighed.

"Get out of my restaurant! You no work here! No eat! Go right now!"

"Where?" Clay demanded.

"Kitchen."

When they walked into the back kitchen, several men looked over at them.

"Hey, jerky-jerky man!" one of the cooks exclaimed as the others laughed.

"Ceiling above the stove. That square of new plaster," Chuck said, pointing up.

"You get out of the kitchen. You go now," the woman said, having followed them in.

Jax climbed up onto the counter, inspecting the spot.

"Used to be an exhaust fan. I stuffed it in there before they plastered it," Chuck informed them.

"Gonna need something heavy," Jax said.

Clay handed up a cooking mallet that he used to break up the plaster before cutting the rest of it away with his knife.

"I call cops. You ruin my kitchen, crazy knife man!"

"Down the side vent. To the left," Chuck called up.

Jax found the duffel bag, hopping down to open it.

"Holy shit," he said, looking up at Clay.

"I told you," Chuck said, nodding triumphantly.

"I accept that," Clay said, grabbing a small stack before zipping up the bag.

As they turned to leave, the woman followed them angrily.

"You pay for damage. You go to jail. All you crazy men."

Clay turned around, shoving the stack of money into her hands.

"Shut up."

"I love jerky jerk off! You come back, okay?" she said with a grin.

When they walked out, the others were waiting on them.

"Our friends in the Beamer are here," Tig said, opening the van so that they could get in.

"And another interested party's been taking laps in a silver Caddy," Half-Sack added.

"The shit is on," Bobby said.

"All right, let's move. Jax drives," Clay instructed.

After trying to get out of the parking lot, only to be blocked by both the Beamer and Cadillac, they stopped in the middle of the parking lot only to duck the shots that were being fired at the van.

"Sunday would have been so much better!" Chuck shouted.

"All we want is the bag!" one of the men outside yelled.

Clay reached towards the bag that had ripped open in the melee.

"Plates," he said, pulling out one of the metal bricks. "These are plates for a twenty. The shit's counterfeit?"

"It's not shit. It's really good. These bills will pass anywhere," Chuck said, shaking his head.

Clay lunged over and punched him hard in the face.

"Goddamn it!"

"This is your last chance!" one of the men outside yelled.

"Hold up!" Clay yelled, opening the door to show them the bag. "Easy! I think we can make a deal. I want to talk to Lin.

The men chattered in Chinese and their boss climbed out of the Cadillac, walking towards them with an unconcerned look on his face. Clay got out as well, holding the bag of money. He tossed it towards Lin, letting it fall to the ground.

"Here's your money. But I'm guessing that's not what you're looking for."

Clay held up one of the plates and Henry Lin nodded in agreement.

"Where's the other plate?" he questioned.

"It's in the van," Clay answered, glancing around at the Chinese gang members. "Look, we both got jerked around here. Now I need real cash. You need the cash maker."

Lin considered, looking wary of making the deal.

"Hey, cops will be here in a heartbeat," he said.

"I got the cops under control. Ten grand," Lin bargained.

"Hundred," Clay replied.

"Thirty."

"Sixty, and I'll throw in the door prize."

Lin considered it before nodding in agreement.

"Hey, Chucky!" Clay shouted.

"Was there ever any real skim money?" Jax demanded inside the van.

"No," Chuck answered.

The other guys in the van groaned and he looked around with panic.

"I'm sorry!"

Tig grabbed his arm, dragging him out.

"Let's go!"

Chuck struggled as he was pulled out into the parking lot and shoved towards Lin.

"This was not our deal! I want to talk to Otto!"

"Shut up!" Tig growled, delivering him over to Lin's men.

"Pay Elvis and his friends," Lin said.

"Get the other plate," Clay instructed Tig.

Chuck shook his head as the exchange was made, trying to get out of this.

"Guys, guys, really, this is a big mistake. You don't want to do this," he said as he was dragged towards Lin's car. "Come on, really. I don't want to do this. Look, I had a deal with Big Otto. I kept my end of the bargain."

"Pleasure," Clay said with a nod once he received the money from Lin. "See you, Chucky."

"Clay! Please! Clay! Please, Clay! They're gonna cut me up into little pieces! I do not accept this!"

"Put him in," Lin instructed before climbing into the car again.

* * *

"How'd it go with the Chinese?" Piney asked as they walked in.

Kyle was sitting at the bar drinking on a beer, watching warily as Clay approached.

"Not too good," Tig huffed.

"Well, where's Chucky?" Piney said.

"That's the upside," Clay said with a grin.

Kyle straightened up when the president reached him, holding his hand out.

"Clay, it's good to see you, man."

Clay stared at his hand for several moments before turning his back.

"So I hear you got an offer I can't refuse," he said, pulling out a beer.

"Something like that," Kyle nodded.

"Well, I'd better get back to the fireworks or your mom's gonna be stuffing gunpowder up my ass," Opie said, walking towards the exit.

"Yeah, I'm sure we're all on the Gemma shit list by now," Jax said, following him away from the others.

"I live on that shit list," Clay called out, causing everyone to laugh.

When Jax and Opie were far enough away not to be heard, they spoke.

"You okay with this?" Jax said in a low voice.

"Yeah. You?" Opie said.

"I'm good," he said.

Opie sighed, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Look. About what I was saying earlier, it doesn't mean I don't want this."

"I know," Jax nodded.

Opie did the same, glancing over at Kyle where he was talking with Bobby.

"I'd rather be dead than be that guy."

"Yeah. Me too," Jax said in a low voice. "You should get going. I can hear my mom swearing from here."

Opie agreed, turning to walk out.

* * *

"You seen Ope?" Gemma asked as they watched the band begin setting up. "He's supposed to be setting up for the fireworks soon."

Elena shook her head.

"I saw him leave with Kyle earlier," she said quietly, knowing that there was something going on there.

"Shit," Gemma muttered.

Elena's phone began ringing and she sighed, pulling it out.

"I can't keep ignoring this," she said, reading Caroline's name on the screen.

"Then don't. Tell them what you told me," Gemma said simply before turning to walk off.

Elena slipped away from the crowd, walking out to the parking lot.

"Hey Care," she said quietly once she answered.

"Oh thank God. We thought something was wrong," Caroline sighed, sounding relieved.

"I talked to Jeremy last night," Elena said, frowning slightly.

Her friend stayed quiet for a few moments.

"You talked to Jeremy but you couldn't bother with picking up the phone or answering any of my dozen texts today? Not to mention Bonnie's calls and texts," Caroline said, sounding annoyed.

"I've been busy," she said, pressing a palm to her forehead as she paced back and forth across the parking lot.

In the distance, she could hear the raffle being called out by Unser.

"Busy? Elena, what could you possibly be doing that's more important than talking to us? Investigating that ass backwards town that Elijah dropped you in?"

"Caroline…" Elena began.

"I don't care, Elena! We've needed to talk to you!"

"What's going on?" she asked, getting worried.

Caroline sighed on the other end of the line.

"Andie is dead. Stefan killed her, probably compelled by Klaus to keep Damon from tracking them."

Elena pressed her hand to her mouth, stopping in place.

"Dammit," she sighed, squeezing her eyes shut. "How is Damon?"

"He's pissed and he's even more determined to kick Klaus's ass. We haven't seen Elijah in months and Klaus seems to be doing whatever the hell he wants. There are bodies scattered across states from their little road trip. Elena…I think you need to come home. If Klaus finds you…"

"He won't," she cut Caroline off with a shake of her head. "And I'm not coming home."

Her friend fell into a stunned silence.

"I have things that are happening here, Care. I need to figure shit out and I can't do that by running away. I'm sorry. Tell everyone I love them and that I hope to see them soon," Elena said, trying to be level-headed here.

"Elena, what about Stefan? Are you even listening to what Klaus is making him do?"

She took a deep breath.

"Stefan and I aren't together anymore. I can't be any help to him now. Just…help Damon figure it out."

"I can't even believe what I'm hearing. Are you seriously just giving up on everything?" Caroline demanded.

"I'm moving on, Care. I'm living my life," Elena said, refusing to believe that she was doing something wrong. "I'll talk to you later."

Before she could protest anymore, Elena hung up and dropped the phone into her purse. She turned back to the courtyard only to realize that she didn't want to be there anymore. Taking a deep breath, she began walking down the street towards the garage.

* * *

As the guys sat around the bar and laughed over old stories, Clay nodded to Jax to indicate that it was time.

"So, Bobby. You tell Kyle about the Knucklehead?" Jax said, leaning forward.

"Who got a Knucklehead?" Kyle slurred, halfway drunk on the beer and hard liquor that he'd been drinking.

Bobby grinned, raising his hand.

"1948, mint."

"Bullshit," Kyle said.

"It is so beautiful it'll blind you," Bobby said, nodding his head. "Come on. Let's go take a look at it."

"All right. Let's go," he agreed.

They all started towards the garage, Jax and Clay bringing up the rear.

"Talk about blinding. That piece of ass hanging off Jax all day is one nice honey. Where'd you find her?" Kyle asked, glancing over his shoulder.

Tig's face fell into a glower as Half-Sack shook his head and Jax just glared at Kyle.

"We don't talk about her like that, man," Bobby said quietly.

"Oh, it's like that," Kyle realized, shooting Jax an apologetic look.

He waved it off, knowing that the other man was about to get what was coming to him.

"What you riding?" Half-Sack asked as they walked into the garage and Tig began closing the doors.

"I'm not riding anything," Kyle answered, glancing around. "Where's the Knuckle?"

When he realized that the guys were all circling him, he knew that something was off.

"What is this?"

"Take your shirt off," Jax said, fury lacing his voice.

Kyle stared at him for a few moments before letting out a nervous laugh.

"Come on, Jax."

"Take it off!" he shouted.

Tig and Bobby darted at him, ripping the shirt off over his head. The intact reaper tattoo was on show for everyone to see.

"You son of a bitch!" Bobby spat at him.

Kyle looked terrified, standing still around like a deer in the headlights.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Clay," he said, turning to look at the president. "I know I was supposed to black it out. And I tried, man. I went a bunch of times. And I couldn't…I couldn't do it."

He looked at Jax pleadingly, trying to get him to understand.

"This is the only thing I have left, Jax. Please, I'm sorry," Kyle pleaded.

"Fire or knife?" Clay said from where he was leaning against the wall.

The excommunicated member looked at him with fear in his eyes, almost crumpling over as the realization that he wasn't getting out of this weighed down on him. Kyle looked at Jax once more but didn't receive any sympathy.

"Answer him," Jax said in a low voice.

Kyle exhaled sharply, nodding in understanding. This was going to happen whether he liked it or not.

"Fire."

"All right," Tig nodded, moving to the toolbox to grab a small flamethrower that they used for cars and such.

Jax held out a bottle of whiskey, letting him drink from it before taking it away once more. Bobby and Piney chained him up, stretching his arms out so that he couldn't get away. Jax poured some of the whiskey over his back as Kyle panted and squeezed his eyes shut, preparing for the worst agony he'd ever experience. His screams filled the garage as soon as the flame hit his back.

* * *

As soon as Elena walked into the parking lot, she could tell that something had happened. From her experiences over the last year, she would recognize the smell of burned flesh anywhere. She stared at the garage with wide eyes, watching as Half-Sack cleaned off the floor with a slightly disgusted look on his face. Standing still in the middle of the lot, she tried to steady her emotions. A whistle sounded from above and she looked up to see that Jax was on the roof of the clubhouse, leaning over as he looked down on her. Tilting her head to the side, she looked at him curiously. He gestured to her and she sighed, walking around the building. Climbing up the ladder carefully, she wondered why Jax would be up here. Her question was answered as soon as she reached the top and looked around. It was peaceful and solitary, something that didn't happen a lot in this town.

"This is nice," she said, walking towards him.

He nodded, sitting back down on a short concrete wall before gesturing for her to do the same. Elena took a seat next to him, leaning into his side. His arm wrapped around her and pulled her in even closer.

"What happened here, Jax?" Elena asked, looking out at the garage.

"Kyle was excommunicated. When that happens, he's supposed to get the reaper tattoo on his back either blacked out with ink or removed. He did neither. We took care of it," Jax said simply.

She shuddered at the thought, knowing how painful that must have been.

"He deserved it, for what he did to Opie?" Elena asked.

"He deserved worse," Jax said in a low voice.

She turned her head to look at him, staring into his eyes before taking in his face. He was a beautiful man but, beneath that exterior, there was danger that terrified and excited her all at once.

"I think that I might have cut ties with my old life tonight," Elena admitted.

"How do you feel about it?" he asked without missing a beat.

She thought about that for a moment before answering.

"Scared," she said.

Jax frowned slightly, a questioning look in his eyes.

"Scared that you made the wrong decision?" he asked.

Elena shook her head.

"Scared that I made the right one."

He looked even more confused, unable to understand what she meant.

"I used to plan everything in my life. I used to know exactly what would happen and when it would happen. But here and now…I have no fucking clue and that terrifies me. Anything could happen tomorrow or the next day or the next. I just don't really know how to live in a life that's so unpredictable."

Jax smiled, leaning in to press his forehead to hers.

"Well, if it helps, you're doing a pretty damn good job of living it so far," he said encouragingly.

She sighed, reaching up to put her hand on his cheek.

"What are we, Jax?" Elena asked, closing her eyes for a moment. "What are we doing? Where are we going with this?"

He pulled away, causing her to open her eyes as she waited for an answer. He reached up, taking her hand in his.

"I got no idea," Jax admitted honestly, looking into her eyes. "But I'm willing to find out if you are."

A smile broke out on Elena's face and she found herself nodding in agreement.

"I'm willing."

* * *

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